Gridlocks make commuters suffer at Rasulpur-Elenga stretch

Passengers have to undergo untold sufferings as hundreds of vehicles face regular gridlocks amid the repair work of the two-kilometre stretch from Rasulpur-Elenga of Dhaka-Tangail highway.

The authorities concerned failed to fix it properly ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha although the road has been in a bad shape for the last few months due to work for a four-lane highway, alleged transport workers, and traffic and highway police.

Frequent heavy rain during the last two months worsened the situation, they said.

Visiting the area on Wednesday, this correspondent saw the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) men doing repair work at three spots on the stretch and traffic and highway policemen struggling to ease the congestion of hundreds of vehicles, including passenger buses and goods-laden trucks, in the area.

The RHD men supervising the repair work said heavy rain is not only hampering the work but causing damage to the road.

“The area sees gridlocks almost daily for the last few months as the expansion work of Joydevpur-Chandra-Tangail-Elenga road is going on. Besides, the recent heavy rain badly damaged its two-kilometre stretch from Rasulpur to Elenga," said Sajedul Islam, a traffic inspector in Tangail.

"The RHD has set up a contraflow for repair of the road and our vehicles get stuck on the stretch almost every day. We faced serious tailbacks in the area before and after the Eid-ul Fitr," said Khokon Miah, driver of a Dhaka-bound passenger bus.

"I have seen the repair work at the stretch for the last few months but the road still remains in a bad condition," said Shahidul Islam, a bus passenger from Pabna, who moves on the road regularly for business purposes.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader during his visit to the highway on August 9 had directed local RHD officials to make the road usable by the next ten days.

Contacted by this correspondent on Wednesday, Noor-e-Alam, executive engineer of RHD in Tangail, claimed that they have already completed repair work by the deadline.

"Now work is going on at the Rasulpur-Elenga stretch of the highway to make the road smooth, so that it remains in a good condition till at least 15 days after the Eid-ul-Azha," he said.

"If it does not rain, we hope there will be no problem for vehicles to pass the road during the heavy rush days before and after the Eid," he added.