NEEDLESS to say that roads and waterways play a pivotal role in boosting economy of a country. The government should, therefore, pay more attention to building strong road and waterway infrastructure in the country. There is no substitute to strong communication infrastructure. Economy of the country will continue to suffer if there is no necessary improvement in the communication sector. Country's northern part remains neglected since long. No government has attached importance to the economic development of northern part of the country. There is no denying the fact that the construction of Jamuna bridge has shortened the

road distance between the north and east of the country, which certainly facilitates the movement of goods from northern part. Some roads, however, were constructed in northern districts during Ershad regime.

Northern part is also connected with southern side through road communication. Kushtia-Bheramara highway is very important underconnector to link northern part with the south. The distance between Kushtia and Bheramara is about twenty kilometres. The condition of the road is deplorable. Recently i visited Bheramara by road from Kushtia but i became sick after returning from Bheramara. The microbus took about an hour to cross the bumpy and worn out road. The road appears to be so bad that one feels to walk twenty kilometres

rather than travelling by jeep, car or microbus. Actually i had the taste of a hell by travelling on Bheramara-Kushtia highway.

it may be mentioned that this road is used daily by hundred thousand people to and from northern districts. i understand that bus and truck drivers had registered their protest two years back by resorting to strike on the condition of this important road. in spite of this no effort has apparently been made to reconstruct this road. Only repair work will not bring any improvement to the road. There is hardly any need to emphasise on the importance of maintenance of roads. it seems proper maintenance of road has not been taken care of. When the construction of Paksey Road Bridge over the river Padma will be completed the importance of Kushtia-

Bheramara highway would hardly be overemphasized. The process on the work of the bridge has already begun. Therefore, the reconstruction of Kushtia-Bheramara highway will be required on an urgent basis.

This country is crisscrossed by many rivers. Which has made the country riverine. Waterways also constitute another important communication. Another link is ferry ghat at Gorai River near Kushtia-Kumarkhali. From this ferry ghat a few thousand people are crossing over daily to the other side to go to Rajbari, Faridpur and Dhaka. This ghat practically has now become ineffective following closure of operation of ferry due to siltation of the riverbed. i was told by the people at Gorai ghat that dredging of the river bed had been carried out by a

foreign firm, possibly a Korean company, a year or two back but silts were piled up in such a way that rain waters washed them down to the river again. Therefore, the huge amount of money was simply wasted, lamented the local people. A thorough inquiry should be conducted to identify the company or person responsible for such colossal waste.

To my utter surprise i saw car and microbus were being ferried by local boat, apart from people and cattlehead. i confronted this ridiculous situation when i myself crossed the river with a car on board the boat. it is very risky ferrying indeed but people accept such risk as fait accompli to go to their destination.

As a result of closing down ferry as many as five trucks loaded with sugarcane were stranded. if the

trucks could not cross over to the other side, the sugarcanes will be wasted. This is the situation the people of Kushtia district are facing presently. Dredging of Gorai river is a must to make it navigable to rescue the ferry service. Alternatively, bailey bridge should be set up for crossing the river. Foundation was laid recently for the construction of road bridge near Gorai Railway bridge. Only two huge pillars were constructed but no further progress has been made to complete the bridge. Had the road bridge been constructed unnecessary suffering of the people could have been avoided.

Good road communication generally facilitates movement of food grains and vegetables from agricultural fields to market places for the benefit of consumers. if the

supply of food grains and vegetables do not meet the requirement of the market, there is likely to be a crisis, which might lead to even acute suffering in certain areas. Besides, bad roads or highways contribute to the deterioration of the condition of vehicles. On my way to Bheramara i came across a number of trucks, which were stranded on the roadside because tyres were damaged.

in view of the worst condition of roads in such a short time (hardly a road or highway completed more than four years back) it is felt that system of floating tender should be changed for the construction of roads and highways to bring about strong disciplinary action against contractor and assigned engineer for any lapse in the standard of construction work. Materials sub-

mitted during the test should be subject to inspection also after completion of construction. Bid band money should be increased to 20 per cent from the existing 10 per cent of the bill to be submitted by the contractor. Final payment will be made only after the physical checking by the head of road division on the basis of report of the field engineer which means responsibility should be shared by contractor, field engineer and head of road division for any lapse in the construction work. The authorities concerned should consider increasing liability period also. People call for such stringent measures in the interests of the country.

Mohammad Amjad Hossain is a former diplomat.