Bright new traffic lights have given a metropolitan look to the Gulshan Avenue and the two points. From Gulshan Section 2 all the way to Section 1, the main streets are now clean and green.

While the Avenue between the two points is very picturesque, the lanes and bylanes remain shabby, with open manholes and potholes. The roads are dug at various places by utility service providers. The footpaths, however, have improved.

Matching the dilapidated roads, telephone, and electrical wires dangle precariously overhead. Broadband cables make the scene even more confusing.

The Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) officials said due to the messy wiring system, the electrical, telephone and now the Internet broadband cables are all tangled up creating a mess.

Asking not to be named, one DCC official said: "If the internet service providers do not start putting their cables in order, we will pull them down very soon."

A top official of the DCC, Gulshan Zonal Office, said four road improvement projects were proposed long ago, but the work order for only one of them have been issued and the rest are awaiting clearance from the Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD).

As citizens anxiously wait for better roads, they also hope that the implementation of these projects will not add to the noise pollution already being created by real estate workers.

"I can't get a decent night's sleep because of all the construction workers unloading their trucks in the middle of the night, creating an awful din. Not only do they spoil our sleep but also destroy the roads by leaving construction materials by the road," said Sabrina Ahmed, a university student living on Road No. 123.

Another student said the Banani streets would look a lot better as soon as the carpeting is complete. According to him, the footpaths on the Banani-Kakoli intersection would be a welcome sight for pedestrians who were used to the footpaths sloshing with urine and piled with garbage.

Shopkeepers and restaurateurs agreed that after a long complain, the streetlights have been installed properly and so security guards find it easier to patrol the streets.