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A painful commute

Helemul Alam
On Tuesday, Mohammad Munna woke up earlier than usual and went to latrabari to purchase supplies for his store.
After buying the goods, he hopped on a rickshaw and headed towards his shop on Wasa Road in Mugda. This being the month of Ramadan, Munna wanted to open his shop right away.
But trouble ensued once he reached Madinabagh area. The rickshaw got stuck in front of a local mosque on the Wasa Road.
Munna had to get off the rickshaw as it could not move any further due to the road's dilapidated condition.
The road has been like this for the last six months, ever since the drainage development work started, said locals.
Meanwhile, finding no alternatives, Munna started walking with five sacks
of goods he purchased.
"It was really tough walking through the muddy road carrying the heavy sacks. My shop was around 15 minutes away from the mosque," he said.
According to locals, all it takes is a little rain and the road becomes muddy due to the debris left on it, making it hard for the locals to move around.
Noor Mohammad, owner of a Boutique Shop in the area, said, "It took one and a half months for the city corporation workers to dig up the road. They left some of the dug-up mud and debris on the road."
"Now, it gets muddy during rain and inconveniences everybody,” he added.
The prevailing situation is not only hampering their day-to-day activities, but also affecting businesses, said many shopkeepers.
"The number of my customers has dropped by 30-40 percent," said Noor Mohammad.
Mohammad Mukul, a local, said the work could have been finished within two to three months. People cannot go to the mosque due to the debris and the mud, he said.
"1 pay Tk 500 per month to keep my motorbike somewhere else. For private cars, it's around Tk 3,000," he added. "I have to take my two sons to school walking around one kilometre everyday as rickshaw-pullers avoid the road."
Shakila Alam, a resident of Uttar Mugda, said a few rickshaw-pullers who would agree to make the trip demand almost double the regular fare.
Md Ibrahim, owner of a pharmacy beside the road, said due to the situation, especially the debris and the clay, motorbikes and rickshaws getting stuck or turning turtle has become a regular phenomenon.
"A motorbike rider came to my pharmacy a few days back after falling on the road," he said. Only a handful of vehicles now run through the road amid risks of accident.
Contacted, Md Asaduzzaman, additional chief engineer of Dhaka South City Corporation, said they would finish the work by June this year. "Early rain created the problem; therefore, we couldn't complete the work sooner," he said.
Sirajul Islam Bhatti, councillor of ward-6 (DSCC), said they held a coordination meeting among DSCC officials concerned and contractors a few days before Ramadan. The contractors assured that they would complete the work by June 15. "Drainage work takes time; that's why it is being delayed, "he added.
"The work will be completed by June 15 along with carpeting work of nearby Mugda main road and Jheelpar road; those are also in poor conditions," he said.