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Chaos from construction

People suffer as govt bodies play blame game

Tamanna Khan and Helemul Alam
**The Daily Star begins taking a closer look into the reasons behind traffic chaos in Dhaka. A series of reports based on certain key spots begins today in which we highlight traffic problems faced in Malibagh-Moghbazar area. Please see inner pages tomorrow for more on traffic congestion.
Nusrat Jahan Mim, 14, is so scared of falling off a rickshaw and getting hurt on the appalling street between Mouchak and Malibagh that she would rather walk to school.
She would risk getting all wet and muddy from splashes as vehicles go over large puddles and potholes.
The class VIII student of Shantibagh School and College developed the phobia after she saw a rickshaw turn on its side on the street hitting a pothole.
The pothole was hidden under stagnant water at Malibagh intersection.
"She has been refusing to take a rickshaw to go to school since the day of the incident," said Taslima Akhter, mother of the school-goer.Rickshaw-puller Abdul Kuddus actually survived such an accident near Wireless Gate three days ago. "My passenger and I were injured," he said, adding that he had to buy pills worth Tk 250 for his knee injuries which put him out of work for three days.
Md Nizam Hossain, a traffic sergeant who had been deployed at Malibagh intersection since Saturday, feared that more accidents would happen because of the horrible condition of the road.
He said at least five rickshaws topple over to their sides every day between Mouchak and Malibagh.
The traffic condition in the area could deteriorate in the upcoming days of Ramadan when people get out in large numbers to do their Eid shopping in the local markets.
"The traffic in the area cannot be controlled even by 50 policemen
unless the roads are repaired," added Nizam, who is usually assisted by only four traffic policemen and a member of Ansar.
The streets and traffic in Malibagh, Moghbazar, Eskaton and Satrasta have become a nightmare for many since the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) started building the 8.25km Moghbazar-Mouchak flyover in February 2013.
Work in Eskaton and Moghbazar areas have narrowed the streets to single lanes and that too full of potholes.
The flyover construction company had dug several trenches and holes at Malibagh intersection and the recent rains have made the situation even worse. The streets are often seen flooded with sewage.
SDM Quamrul Alam Chowdhury, deputy director of Wasa, said debris from the construction had clogged
several drains. "Our workers are working to clear those blockages," he said. However, Md Ainul, who was seen waiting at Malibagh for a bus to Uttara yesterday, said, "Some Wasa workers can be seen digging holes here and there every day but we don't really see any change."
Asked about road repairs, Nazmul Alam, project director of Moghbazar-Mouchak flyover, told The Daily Star that the roads would be repaired within a couple of days. "But Wasa and the City Corporation need to clean up the drains, ” he said.
Executive Engineer Borhan Uddin of Dhaka South City Corporation claimed that it was the duty of the LGED to repair the roads and clearing the stagnant water on the streets was theWasa'sjob.
As the authorities try to push and shove responsibilities on each other, the sufferings ofthe people continue.