People suffer as utility agencies lack coordination

The government loses crores of taka each year as there is no coordination among utility services while digging up city roads and pavements for various work round the year, according to officials. The situation turns worse during the rainy season, when roads and pavements are dug up to lay sewerage or gas pipelines, or electricity  or telephone cables. Several areas of the capital go under knee or waist-deep water, and sewage mixed with rain water makes lives of city dwellers unbearable.
Experts and green activists have suggested that departments concerned should adopt a three-pronged strategy, including drawing up a master plan based on population density of specific areas, to tackle the problem. “This is the only way out,” Abu Naser Khan, chairman of Poribesh Bachao Andolon (POBA), told The Independent. Khan said digging of roads has become a common sight just before June. What is worse, the work is done in a haphazard manner. The authorities do not seem to bother about providing a better service to pedestrians. The result is, there are trenches crisscrossing the road, with mud and slime strewn all around, making it difficult for both pedestrians and vehicles to move, particularly at night, he added.
Most of the city roads, lanes and by-lanes, particularly at Moghbazar, Mouchak, Rampura, Malibagh, Mohammadpur, Mohakhali, Syedabad, Jatrabari and Mirpur, have been through a spate of  road digging just before the monsoon, he said.
Besides, residents of Moghbazar, Mouchak, Malibagh, Shantinagar, Banglamotor and Shatrasta have been facing problems like muddy and dilapidated road condition over the past three years, he added.
According to LGRD ministry sources, the government loses about Tk. 3,000 crore annually due to such activities of the utility services.
There is a strong need for action that should include proper coordination among the Dhaka city corporations (north and south), PDB, DESA, WASA, BTCL and Titas Gas, Sayeed Khokon, mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), told The Independent. This should be done in such a way as to save a huge amount of money involved in road digging, filling and carpeting. The mayor further said that they discourage permission for road digging during the rainy season, but often have to relent under pressure from the utility services.
Most of the utility services do not have modern equipment and do the work manually, the mayor observed.
He admitted that people have been facing waterlogging, severe traffic jams, dust and mud due to unplanned digging of roads. According to senior DCC officials, sometimes digging is done by DESA, a few days later it is either WASA or Titas Gas; then the BTCL or cable companies take over on the plea of laying pipes or cables, or some development work.
Abu Naser Khan, a social worker and green activist, wondered why there is no coordination among these agencies, mostly government departments.
Ferdousi Rahman, a banker, said traffic jams and waterlogging pollutes the environment. Dust-laced black smoke from the large number of stationary vehicles causes breathing problems and asthma, particularly among children and the elderly, she added. Measures should be adopted immediately.
There should be better coordination as contractors of various utility services leave their trenches without filling them up and carpeting them, Solaiman Hossain, a resident of Mirpur, said. He was trying to negotiate the slippery way with his school going child over  piles of earth, spread around by the rain and vehicles. Residents called upon the authorities to stop the haphazard digging of roads.

 

 

People suffer as utility agencies lack coordination

The government loses crores of taka each year as there is no coordination among utility services while digging up city roads and pavements for various work round the year, according to officials. The situation turns worse during the rainy season, when roads and pavements are dug up to lay sewerage or gas pipelines, or electricity or telephone cables. Several areas of the capital go under knee or waist-deep water, and sewage mixed with rain water makes lives of city dwellers unbearable. Experts and green activists have suggested that departments concerned should adopt a three-pronged strategy, including drawing up a master plan based on population density of specific areas, to tackle the problem. This is the only way out, Abu Naser Khan, chairman of Poribesh Bachao Andolon (POBA), told The Independent. Khan said digging of roads has become a common sight just before June. What is worse, the work is done in a haphazard manner. The authorities do not seem to bother about providing a better service to pedestrians. The result is, there are trenches crisscrossing the road, with mud and slime strewn all around, making it difficult for both pedestrians and vehicles to move, particularly at night, he added. Most of the city roads, lanes and by-lanes, particularly at Moghbazar, Mouchak, Rampura, Malibagh, Mohammadpur, Mohakhali, Syedabad, Jatrabari and Mirpur, have been through a spate of road digging just before the monsoon, he said. Besides, residents of Moghbazar, Mouchak, Malibagh, Shantinagar, Banglamotor and Shatrasta have been facing problems like muddy and dilapidated road condition over the past three years, he added. According to LGRD ministry sources, the government loses about Tk. 3,000 crore annually due to such activities of the utility services. There is a strong need for action that should include proper coordination among the Dhaka city corporations (north and south), PDB, DESA, WASA, BTCL and Titas Gas, Sayeed Khokon, mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), told The Independent. This should be done in such a way as to save a huge amount of money involved in road digging, filling and carpeting. The mayor further said that they discourage permission for road digging during the rainy season, but often have to relent under pressure from the utility services. Most of the utility services do not have modern equipment and do the work manually, the mayor observed. He admitted that people have been facing waterlogging, severe traffic jams, dust and mud due to unplanned digging of roads. According to senior DCC officials, sometimes digging is done by DESA, a few days later it is either WASA or Titas Gas; then the BTCL or cable companies take over on the plea of laying pipes or cables, or some development work. Abu Naser Khan, a social worker and green activist, wondered why there is no coordination among these agencies, mostly government departments. Ferdousi Rahman, a banker, said traffic jams and waterlogging pollutes the environment. Dust-laced black smoke from the large number of stationary vehicles causes breathing problems and asthma, particularly among children and the elderly, she added. Measures should be adopted immediately. There should be better coordination as contractors of various utility services leave their trenches without filling them up and carpeting them, Solaiman Hossain, a resident of Mirpur, said. He was trying to negotiate the slippery way with his school going child over piles of earth, spread around by the rain and vehicles. Residents called upon the authorities to stop the haphazard digging of roads.