Whose road is it anyway?

Authorities’ indifference, as well as lack of foresight and responsibility have left the Khulna city bypass connectivity road in a sorry state, at the expense of local residents and inter-district buses passing through it.

The asphalt on the surface of the 50ft wide road has long been gone, and large potholes have emerged. Due to a lack of drainage, rainwater often accumulates on it, creating a thick layer of muck. Passengers of buses and pedestrians have a hard time using the road, while vehicular movement also becomes extremely slow.

Kazi Md Nurul Islam, president of Khulna Motor Workers Union, told The Daily Star that buses to 18 districts -- including Dhaka, Barishal, Bagerhat, Satkhira, Pirojpur, Jhalakathi  -- and a number of upazilas in Khulna ply from Sonadanga bus terminal.

“Every day, at least 10 to 15 minor accidents occur due to the poor condition of the road,” he said, adding, “We have been seeking a solution to this for years but none of Khulna Development Authority (KDA), Khulna City Corporation (KCC), Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) or district administration have paid heed to repair the road.”

GM Alamgir Kabir, a banker who lives in the neighbourhood, said, “Traveling along this road is outright dangerous. At least two to three thousand people use it every day amid risk of accidents. There is not even any footpath here.”

There are three privately-owned educational institutions along the road -- a high school, a college and a university. This correspondent found a large number of students commuting on the road, on foot and on other vehicles.

BAD PLANNING

KDA sources said construction of the 2.16km road from Sonadanga bus terminal to the Joy Bangla intersection of the Rupsha bridge highway was completed in June 2013, at a cost of Tk 20.5 crore.

However, no renovation or repair work has been done on the road since.

Kazi Sabirul Alam, chief engineer of KDA and project director of the road, told The Daily Star that around 800 metres of the road -- from Sonadanga bus terminal to Mayur bridge -- was handed over to the estate department of KCC in December 2013. Besides, KDA sent a letter to LGED the same year to take charge of another part of the road from Mayur Bridge to Joy Bangla intersection.

“Now it is the responsibility of the two authorities to repair the road,” said Sabirul Alam.

Asked why the road has no drainage facilities or footpaths, he said at the time of construction, they did not consider that the road would become so busy.

WHO’S THE CUSTODIAN?

Although KDA claims to have handed over the road to respective authorities, neither KCC nor LGED have held up their end.

Mashiuzzaman Khan, executive engineer of KCC, claimed that they were not informed by their estate office that the road was under their jurisdiction, until recently.

“We have already dumped sand and brick to make the road suitable for movement,” he added.

He also said a project to construct drains on the road was being discussed. “The road will be renovated soon after the drain is constructed.”

However, upon a visit to the spot earlier this week, this correspondent found the road to be in pretty bad shape.

Merely a hundred steps from Sonadanga Model Police Station, a big hole on the middle of the road has become a headache for roadside  shop owners and pedestrians.

ASM Kabir, executive engineer of LGED, meanwhile told this newspaper that it was not possible for them to take responsibility of their designated share of the road [from Mayur Bridge to Joy Bangla intersection], as it did not fit the classification criteria for it to be under LGED’s supervision.

“If the KDA chairman writes to the high authority of LGED and sanctions money, then we can repair the road,” said ASM Kabir.