A road to misery

On Monday afternoon, Tanveer Ahmed, a resident of Shiyaldanga Road, was seen walking home carrying a medium-sized suitcase and a heavy bag. With the road too damaged for vehicles, he had no choice but to walk.

"I have to walk about 10 minutes with these heavy bags to reach my house because no vehicle can pass through this road," said Tanveer, who had just returned from his village home in Rajshahi.

The road, stretching about 2.5 kilometres from Kawlabazar to Dakkhin Khan Bazar via Shiyaldanga Road, is in extremely poor condition due to excavation work by the Dhaka North City Corporation for installing storm-water drainage lines.

According to locals, work on the two-kilometre stretch from Dakkhin Khan Bazar to Northern University, near the back of Sheyalbari Road, has been ongoing for the past two years. Although the drainage lines were laid, DNCC has so far carpeted only about one-fourth of the road.

Meanwhile, work on the section from Sheyalbari Road to Kawlabazar began around four months ago, leaving the road virtually impassable.

No vehicles can move through this portion, said residents.

The poor condition of the road has worsened daily struggles, particularly for students.

"It now takes me 20 minutes to walk to the university from Kawlabazar, while the rickshaw fare has jumped to Tk 60 from Tk 20 before the road digging," said Anamika Rani Roy, a BSc Textile Engineering student at Northern University.

"During the rain, it is even more difficult, as the muddy road becomes dangerously slippery," she said.

Israt Jahan and Taiyaba Zannat, second-year Pharmacy students at Northern University, who commute from Mirpur-13 and Gazipur, said their journeys have become exhausting.

"After getting off the bus, we now have to hire a rickshaw and then walk another 15 minutes. What used to cost Tk 30 now costs Tk 120 by rickshaw because of detours caused by the road," one of them said.

Residents say the project has caused endless disruptions.

Mohammad Monir, a local, said drainage work along the two-kilometre stretch from Dakkhin Khan Bazar to Shiyaldanga Road has dragged on for two years, while work from Northern University to Kawlabazar has been ongoing for the past six months.

The situation has affected even schoolchildren.  Noor Nahar Mim, a fourth-grader at Khilkhet Kawla Government Primary School, said she faces serious hardships on rainy days. "It takes me 10 minutes to walk home, but the muddy road makes it very difficult," she said. 

"My income has dropped by half since the work began. I couldn't pay rent for the last two months," said Md Russel, a tailor. "Customers avoid this road, and vehicles cannot come through."

Taslima Akhtar, caretaker of House-43 on Shiyaldanga Road, said, "Tenants avoid renting houses here because moving furniture is nearly impossible."

She added, "We used to have nine or ten cars in our garage. Now none are here. Owners had to move them outside the area, paying Tk 2,000–3,000 a month for parking elsewhere. The road has been in bad condition for a long time and often goes under ankle- to knee-deep water. This drainage work was supposed to bring us relief, but instead, it has only brought us more pain."

Contacted, DNCC Administrator Mohammad Azaz acknowledged the delays, saying that resistance from some residents has slowed progress.

"Many people are reluctant to vacate occupied portions of the road needed for widening, which is a barrier to completing the work swiftly. However, we are trying our best to finish the project as early as possible," he said.