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SPECIAL ON ROAD DIGGING

City undergoes rigorous road digging

CITY CORRESPONDENT
Utility service providers are currently digging up around 42.1 kilometres road in the city simultaneously just before the rainy season, causing inconvenience to commuters.
A survey shows that more than a hundred roads in the city have been dug by the utility agencies under 41 development projects, also leading to traffic congestion.
The survey conducted by Unnayan Samannoy, a non-governmental organisation, in 26 wards of Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) says most city dwellers have identified traffic jam and indiscriminate road digging as the main problems in the city.
Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) is implementing nearly 80 percent of the schemes but in most cases it has failed to complete the work in time.
For example, Wasa started digging a road in Kashaituli on April 20 and the work was supposed to complete by May 10. But only 15 percent work has been done so far. Dhaka Electricity Supply Authority (Desa) is also digging roads for development work.
However, DCC and other utility service providers are blaming each other for the sufferings of the people due to road digging all the year round.
"The utility providers especially Wasa do not deposit security money on time that causes delay in road digging," Saifuddin Ahmed, DCC chief executive officer told Star City.
But Wasa officials said work is being delayed as the DCC has increased security deposit by 100
percent against digging of any road for development work.
Wasa Managing Director ANH Akhter Hossain said Wasa has started digging city roads to improve the sewerage channel and water supply lines.
"The issue of increased security money is yet to be resolved. But we
could not wait as the rainy season nears," said the managing director.
The DCC CEO claimed that the corporation has increased the amount of security money to discourage utility agencies in road digging frequently.
DCC gave permission to the utility service providers for road digging in April, two months ahead of monsoon,
to avoid people's sufferings.
The works are scheduled to complete by May 31, but the present status of work indicates that there is no chance of the completion by that time. "These roads will be left with big ditches which will add sufferings to the commuters," said a DCC official.
"If we do not permit road digging,
the utility services will be collapsed," the DCC CEO said when asked why they are giving permission to dig up roads simultaneously.
Furthermore, most of the roads are not repaired after the work is finished and the dug up roads remain in such a shabby condition for months. Wasa and Titas Gas dug up the road from Rampura to Kuril recently that has still been left without repairing.
"DUTP (Dhaka Urban Transport Project) developed the road six months ago, which has now become unusable," alleged a DCC official asking not to be named.
Titas gas was permitted to dig up the roads in Arambagh, RK Mission Road, Shapla Chattar, Malibagh, Kamalapur, Mughdapara, Fakirerpool and Madertek area. Titas was supposed to finish the works by May 5 but the works are yet to complete.
DCC officials claimed that they could not give green signals to the utility agencies to start digging because of delayed approval from planning commission.
Sadeq Hossain Khoka, city mayor said: "All utility agencies receive funds from the planning commission at the eleventh hour and then they come to us for approval. It happens every year and this is the reason why the work is delayed."
"We are forced to approve plans just before the rainy reason, as utility service providers are compelled to complete their work before the end of the current fiscal year," he added.
He said DCC will hold a meeting to find a solution of the crisis today.