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Unplanned approach road at Natakhola creating traffic congestion everyday

From Ranesh Maitra
PABNA. Jan 26 : Traffic con-S(estion at the newly shifted erry ghat at Natakhola. gateway to north through road from eastern zone of the country, is worsening everyday as the Holy Eid-ul-Fitr is getting nearer.
Hundreds of trucks loaded with essentials carrying specially vegetables got stuck at the f;hat. some waiting at least for ive days before boarding a ferry.
The situation at the country's biggest ferry ghat. Aricha. was also grave as more and more vehicles started to queue at the terminal, mostly carrying passengers heading towards southern and northern parts of the country.
Sources at both the ghats apprehended that the situation may further deteriorate a few days before the Eid. No special measures were yet taken by the concerned authority to ease the traffic congestion at the terminals.
We are in doubt whether we would be able to celebrate the Holy Eid-ul-Fitr. with our family and relatives living in Dhaka and Chittagong this year, like the previous years." said a number of businessmen of Pabna.
"It is really doubtful whether the entire traffic system be.-tween the eastern and northern districts would be faced with complete dislocation due to shoals appearing everyday in the Jamuna. The troubles and jams is being created at Aricha and Natakhola ghats specially due to extremely tottering condition of the temporarily built Natakhola-Nagorbari approach road."
Jahanara Begum, an old house-wife of Shalgaria in Pabna town told the above on the same day when asked by The Daily Star how she was feeling about celebrating the Holy Eid. Her daughter and a son-in-law of Jahanara Begum are serving in Dhaka and they are expected to come to Pabna during the ensuing Eid-ul-Fitr. Along with them, her grandchildren are also to come. Jahanara said. Neither we nor the daughter and others are sure about meeting together during the festival." "Traffic Jams at the ferry ghats may spoil all their programmes." Jananara expressed her grave doubt.
Baby Islam, a leading bus owner and President. Pabna District Motor Malik Group, told The Daily Star on Tuesday that thousands of bus and truck owners and employees of North Bengal and also from the eastern wing were in doubt whether they would be able to carry out their trips safely and timely.
"Unusual traffic Jam continuing at Aricha was the reason for detaining their vehicles, specially the trucks for days together during this chilly winter. Fewer number of ferries were plying between Aricha and Natakhola. Due to the ex-
tremely narrow approach road from Nagorbari find Natakhola traffic disruption frequently occurs leading to the sufferings of the businessmen on this part and price-hike of commodities rendered thereby." said Baby Islam.
Taking note of the above apprehensions prevailing among all sections of the people here, this correspondent visited Nagorbari and Natakhola ferry ghats on last Wednesday and found the damaged portions of the approach road to Natakhola was being repaired. When the correspondent reached the ghat, there was no traffic jam but within one and a half hours a severe traffic jam developed.
Nurul Islam, Executive Engineer. Roads and Highways Department. Pabna was found supervising the repair works
himself. Replying to some questions, the executive engineer. who Joined here only two weeks back on transfer said that there was no reason to be so much apprehensive of traffic dislocation before or immediately after the Eid.
Nurul Islam said. "We are working day and night for the approach road, repairing the same and also widening the same from the existing 22 feet to 30 feet.”
"In fact." the executive engineer continued, "whatever the traffic jam is experienced, it is actually found at Aricha and
never so much acute in Natakhola. The problem here is that while shifting the ferry ghat from Nagarbari to Natakhola, this approach road had to be constructed hastily and hence it could not be constructed properly. Necessary time for the construction was not available and hence the department had to depend on the contractors. Construction of the road was the main task and so the quality within so short time could not be ensured. Hence, the road occasionally is found to have potholes and some other problems also appear. But repair work is taken up urgently so that traffic movement remains operative."
Replying to further questions Nurul Islam said that this road was a purely temporary one and for permanent traffic.
Kazirhat-Natakhola road would be constructed and there would be no problem like this when the construction of the said road is completed.
When asked whether Kazirhat-Natakhola road project was approved already, the executive engineer told that it was on the process and pre-EC-NEC approval was already received. Now it is awaiting final approval of the ECNEC.
Replying to another question. he said that fund would be made available with them after the ECNEC gave its final ap proval He. however, could not say actually when the fund would be available.
When asked how long they would require to complete the construction of the above 2.25-kilometre road along with one bridge over it. Nurul Islam replied, "two years."
Nurul Islam, however, said "it was badly essential to start the construction of the Kazirhat-Natakhola road immediately since the rainy season was nearing. During the rainy season earth work would be difficult and even if earth work was taken up during the rainy season, the proposed road would be weak. Hence, urgent approval and sanction were lieing awaited."
When asked what would be the traffic condition for those Iwo years, the executive engi neer said, "We have no other al ternative but to depend on the existing approach road till the Kazirhat Natakhola road was constructed."
Asked whether the approach road being a weak one would be able to bear the heavy traffic for long two years. Nurul Islam said. "To speak the truth, "if there was no erosion of the road by the river Jamuna (as the approach road runs through the Sank of the river) and if the trucks carry goods as per their capacity, it would run smoothly."
Explaining further, he said that BIWTA surprisingly allows trucks having capacity of 5 tonnes to carry even 20 tonnes of load and this causes harm to the road. He suggested that there should be strict observation by the BIWTC and other authorities concerned so that no vehicle with load about eight to 10 tons can cross the river till the construction of Kazirhat-Natakhola road was completed.
As regards the probable longevity of the approach road, Nurul Islam stressed the need for proper protection arrangements and for that he suggested expert-level survey as to what type of protective arrangements should be taken for overcoming the strong waves and current of the river Jamuna during the ensuing rainy season.
"For a meaningful protective arrangement for the approach road, expert survey was not only necessary but iso a must, since this is the only route upon which the road traffic system between the two zones of the country mostly and sometimes entirely depends.
An executive engineer of the BIWTA, supervising the construction work of terminal at Natakhola. told The Daily Star that they would be able to complete the construction work of the terminal by June. 1997.
Abdullah-al-Mamun. general secretary. Natakhola Ghat Sramik Union paid. Traffic jams in Natakhola ghat take serious shape occasionally, not frequently. Heavy vehicles ply extremely slowly from Natakhola'to Nagarbari on the one hand and from Nagarbari to Natakhola on the other. This causes jam."
Al-Mamun further said that jams are also created when less number of ferries ply or when larger number of ferries come. Lack of parking facilities, weak approach road sometimes causing accidents. Thus immediate
construction of the proposed Kazirhat-Natakhola road was needed and pending that improvement ol the existing approach road with sufficient protective arrangements were a must for keeping the road traffic system functioning normally.
"Since neither of the two steps could be taken l>efore the Holy Eid. traffic Jam and traffic dislocation even at Natakhola-Nagarbari was very much ap-Eirehended by all. said the abour leader.
It may be recalled that already pressure of traffic via Natakhola ghat has increased enormously and alarmingly following recent collapse of railway terry services between Teestamukh ghat and Ba-hadurabad and between Siraj-ganj and Jagannathganj ghats and stoppage of road communication via Sirajgani and Bhua-pur ghats due to abnormal fall in the water level of the river Jamuna.
Rafiqul Islam, a transport workers leader of North Bengal was also highly apprehensive and said. “Government indecision. lack of promptness in decision making, official red tapism were causing such sufferings to the people of North Bengal.
Rafiqul Islam said that there were genuine reasons for apprehending breakdown any moment as the government falls to take timely measures till writing of the report.