After taking apart the road dividers on a quarter-kilometre stretch of the Airport Road in September, the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) is now putting back the concrete shards to restore the dismantled structure.

RHD workers were seen putting the dividers back in place with a light crane on Tuesday.

The dismantling was stopped in mid-September at the prime minister's instruction following criticisms from public and government quarters.

Even Communication Minister Nazmul Huda was in the dark about the dividers' removal ordered by his ministry.

"We had to stop in the face of a public outcry following press

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reports and a subsequent order from the prime minister," said an RHD engineer requesting anonymity.

He said the money wasted in the process was 'nominal', but declined to give the amount.

"The dividers will now stay in their place but we will increase their height as the level of the surrounding road surface has increased over the years due to carpeting," he said.

The removal was being carried out under the Tk 25 crore 'Airport Road Beautification Project', a component of Dhaka Urban Transport Project, and includes repair of broken sidewalks and widening of road space.

The project is being jointly implemented by Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and the RHD.

Another RHD engineer requesting anonymity told The Daily Star that it was inconceivable how the removal of road dividers could add to the beauty of the road as suggested by the project name or reduce traffic jam.

"One of the reasons the concrete dividers were put up was to block the high beam of vehicle headlights coming from the opposite direction to avoid the blinding effect it has on drivers, " he said.

Dr Nazrul Islam, a geography professor of Dhaka University, said the project is fraught with lack of coordination between the implementing agencies, resulting in waste of taxpayers' money.

"The dismantling of the dividers and their subsequent restoration show that the project is being implemented in an unplanned way," he said, adding that the main task of road dividers is to ensure road safety.

He said widening of the road is very important but the dismantling of the dividers was totally

unnecessary.

Monjur Ahsan Bhuiyan, executive engineer of the RHD (Dhaka Division), declined to comment on the reconstruction of the dividers.

Under the project, the Airport Road will have six to eight lanes and two-foot-wide footpaths on the Mohakhali side and three-footwide on the airport side, said Quamrul Islam Siddique, executive director of Dhaka Transport Coordination Board (DTCB). Trees will be planted on the airport side for beautification, he added.

"After the work is finished, the Airport Road will be the most beautiful of all roads and accommodate a greater volume of through traffic," he said.

The project is expected to finish by July 2004.