No four-lane upgrade for Ctg-Kaptai Road

The longstanding demand for turning the busy Chattogram–Kaptai Road into four lanes has once again been ignored, leaving students of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology and locals frustrated.

The 33-kilometre road, connecting Chattogram with Rangamati, is currently six to seven metres wide, functioning as a narrow two-lane highway without any central divider. Several hundred passenger vehicles and goods-laden trucks use it daily at great risk. The road also serves as the lone route of commute for more than 4,500 Cuet students, as well as teachers and staff.

Students staged demonstrations demanding expansion of the road after two Cuet students were killed in a bus accident there in April 2024. At the time, government officials assured them that the road would be upgraded to four lanes within a year.

"We were given assurance that the road would be upgraded to four lanes, but RHD has instead gone for nominal widening, keeping the risks unaddressed," said Adil Raihan, a student of Computer Science and Engineering at Cuet. "We will sit with RHD to press our demands," he added.

The current project, launched last December, covers only a 13.4-km stretch from Mohra in the port city to Goshchi in Raozan. Two contractors are carrying out the work.

The work is expected to be completed by December 30 this year. Once finished, the average width will be 9.5 metres -- still narrower than a three-lane road -- and without a divider.

Asked, Mohammad Mosleh Uddin Chowdhury, executive engineer of RHD in Chattogram, said, "The road was initially planned for four lanes and a project proposal was sent to the ministry, but it did not move forward. That is why we are carrying out basic widening instead."

During visits to different spots along the road such as Golaper Dokan, Nazumia Hat, Madunaghat, Brahman Hat and Nayahat, it was found that vehicles remain at constant risk of head-on collisions.

"Most accidents that occur on this road are head-on collisions. Without a divider, widening alone will not solve the problem," said Mohammed Anis, a banker from Hathazari who commutes daily on the road.

The RHD executive engineer, however, said the current project has no budget allocation for building a divider.