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Gridlocks, potholes vanish in Abul magic

Communications minister goes to Kanchpur, sees nothing; rebukes media for jam stories

HASAN JAHID Tusker, back from Kanchpur
It was a hectic three-hour preparation before Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain visited the Kanchpur Bridge area to see for himself if the area is really prone to perennial traffic congestion as was reported in the newspaper.
Before his visit the local administration and law enforcers of Narayanganj district made sure ihat the minister would see no traffic jam on the Dhaka-Narayanganj highway leading to Kanchpur Bridge. The potholes at different places of the highway were filled hurriedly with gravels to make sure a jam-free road, especially at Shanir Akhra as everyday long tailbacks of vehicles are very usual there.
The minister drove along the highway and witnessed no tailback and then claimed there had never been any gridlock.
No traffic jam came in sight of the minister indeed! But it was at the cost of the local administration and law enforcers of Narayanganj district who had to sweat their guts out to ensure a road free from traffic jam.
The officials of the Narayanganj district administration and law enforcers were put on alert on either side of the Jatrabari-Kanchpur road for hours maintain the traffic, esp cially on the Kanchpi Bridge.
Either side of the bridge usually witness heavy traffic gridlock round the clock, said locals.
Vehicles were not allowed to pull over on the road even for a moment causing immense suffering to passengers as they couldn't get off the vehicles at their designated places while commuters waiting for the bus had to undergo the same experience.
Even the trucks and other modes of vehicles parked at the roadside everyday were not allowed to move on to the street as the minister was scheduled to visit the area.
The Jatrabari-Kanchpur road, which has been in dilapidated condition for the last several years causing tremendous sufferings to commuters and locals, were repaired for the minister to enjoy a good ride.
At a view-exchange meeting with reporters and the locals at the Roads and Highways Department's Kanchpur office, the minister said he came to pay a visit to Kanchpur Bridge area to see whether there is any traffic congestion after he has read a report in the daily Prothom .Mo's Friday edition.
Where the traffic jam is! I haven t seen any traffic jam here. 1 went over the bridge several times, but I haven't seen any gridlock about which the newspaper ran a report," he exclaimed with surprise.
He suggested that the media should let him know about any traffic jam instead of writing or broadcasting it, as it would mislead people and spread panic. "Being a minister 1 myself was panicked after reading the news report In fhe ProihonT Alo, he said.
"1 went to Chittagong during the BNP-Jamaat four-parly coalition government but I did not see any jam then too," he said, adding that if the matter of traffic jam is everyday affair at Kanchpur he would have to arrange a ferry service to ease traffic jam.
As the minister wanted to know whether the jam is an everyday phenomenon there'. Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Shamsur Rahman and Superintendent of Police Biswas Afzal Hossain informed him that goods-laden vehicles ply through the bridge very slowly and eery often unfit vehicles go out of order causing frequent traffic jam.
Meanwhile, locals as well as law enforcers alleged that some officials of the local administration in collusion with the ruling party men collect tolls from vehicles«on either side of the bridge contributing to slow pace of vehicular movement.
Asked what measure his ministry would take to ease traffic jam, Abul Hossain said he could not do anything overnight.
"It will take time. We need a eight-lane road but we have a two-lane road instead," he said, adding that the government would float tender for the construction of a four-lane Dhaka-Chittagong highway in December.
If the proposed road is constructed it will reduce the gridlock significantly, he added.
He said the second bridge over the river Shitalakhhya was scheduled to be inaugurated next January, which would also help reduce at least fifty percent traffic movements on the Kanchpur Bridge.
The construction work of the bridge linking Demra-Sylhet road would be completed by December this year, he added.
He also said that third Shitalakhhya bridge would also be constructed in Madanganj area to ease traffic jam.