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Perilous roads, bone-tiring rides

Uttara Sector 10 almost cut off from any form of transport

RIZANUZZAMAN LASKAR
Patchy, potholcd and pebble-strewn, the roads of Uttara Sector-10 present a treacherous path for both pedestrians and vehicle passengers.
Those seeking to traverse these streets by rickshaw or autorickshaw are in for a boneshaking ride. Rickshawpullers and autorickshaw drivers prefer to avoid this moonscape of potholes and eroded tarmac.
During a visit to the area, this correspondent witnessed a rickshaw almost topple over a pothole filled with chunk of pointy bricks. The rickshawpuller quickly got off
his seat and barely managed to stop the three-wheeler from tumbling over. However, his passenger, a middle aged woman, landed on the rough patch and injured her legs.
In most places, construction materials stacked on the streets take up precious road space.
Anisul Islam's kneecaps got fractured last week after he failed to notice a stretch of potholes on the street. He was too busy circumventing a pile of bricks when his bicycle lost balance and toppled on a prickly, piercing patch of pothole.
"It is in the nature of our authorities to not do anything until something tragic happens.
They should be held responsible for the suffering we have to go through each and every day," said an aching Kamrul Islam, a resident of Uttara.
Humayun Kabir, whose grocery store is located opposite to a nasty stretch of potholes, said “Things get even uglier when it rains. I have seen many vehicles including rickshaws tumbling because they cannot see the potholes. In the last monsoon, 1 have seen at least three people being helped away from here with broken legs."
To make matters worse, Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) have excavated long stretches of holes in these
roads to install underground drainage. These wide, deep stretches of hovels are causing further hindrance to all movements.
Lutfur Hossain, 80, finds it hard enough to negotiate the potholcd roads strewn with rough assortments of stones on his way to the mosque every day.
For elderly mosque-goers like him, a rickshaw trip is equally fraught with hazard, since the jarring ride causes their bones and joints to ache.
According to medical professionals, frequent and sustained jerking from bumpy vehicle rides can indeed cause back and neck pains in those who are weak or
elderly, and aggravate them in people with existing problems.
The scores of households in the area, as well as the hundreds who travel to the numerous offices, clinics, schools, colleges and coaching centres in adjacent areas, have been suffering daily because of the rutted roads.
Apart from an occasional eyewash maintenance job, the streets of Uttara Sector-10 and adjacent areas have been completely neglected over the past decade, local residents said.
"We are pretty much cut off from almost any form of transport. We have to walk quite a bit of way through the perilous roads to get a rickshaw or other vehicle,” said Nazneen Akter, a local.
"Emergency services like ambulance or fire trucks also have a hard time reaching our neighbourhood. It is even worse than a muddy village road as many parts of the roads are unfinished," Abu Syed Sarkar, another resident said.
"We also have to keep our children under close watch. I do not let my three-year-old son out of the main gate even for a second. One of my neighbour's toddlers fell in a hole some time ago," he added.
Apart from all the hazards, muggings on the road have increased significantly in recent times, local residents said adding that the quiet road devoid of any traffic movement and police patrol has been attracting prowling muggers.
The residents living in or around the region have to pay more in transport fares since hired taxicabs, CNG three-wheelers or rickshaws need to take detours to avoid the road.
Officials from the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) zone 10, who are responsible to look over the streets of Uttara acknowledged the pathetic state of these roads.
"We are aware of the problems in the region. We have prepared a 23-crore taka plan to repair the streets and other public facilities in sector 10,11,12,13 and 14 of Uttara,” said an official concerned from the DCC zone 10 office.
“The proposal will soon be reviewed by the Planning Commission. Once it gets approved we will start the repair work of the streets as soon as possible,” he said.