Journeying over pot-holed roads

EID is upon us again. A time of joy and rejoicing as people leave Dhaka city by the thousands to be reunited with their families in respective home districts. But half the joy dissipates into annoyance on the actual travel itself. The journey home to Tangail, for instance, takes double the time, i.e. six hours instead of the usual three. Apart from the extra traffic during Eid abnormal tailbacks are caused by vehicles navigating treacherous roads that are pot-holed and dilapidated. The usual explanation from the concerned ministry is that incessant rains have managed to undo all the hard work the roads and highways division have done in the preceding weeks. Is it so insurmountable a task to have roads that are fairly unbroken during the time of the two Eid holidays? Why must we go through this torture twice a year, every year?

According to the police, some routes like Dhaka-Tangail highway see a four-fold increase in vehicular movement, from 5,000 to 20,000. This is normal. What is not normal is the sorry state of the highway. With the authorities apparently not enforcing their earlier decision to prohibit slow moving transportation like three-wheelers, the rundown state of the highways will increase the probability of serious accidents. Every major accident on a highway costs lives; it also results in hours more added to tailbacks. People pay taxes and it is expected that some of that government revenue is spent to make the roads better.