Journeys into insecurity and uncertainty

The mechanism of ensuring road safety as well as faster communication lies not just in enforcing traffic rules and taking punitive actions

Other than traffic jam the next but not the less cumbersome trouble in road communication is certainly the clumsy and ill-assorted co-ordination among the available land routes across the country. In fact, ill-synchronized and chaotic land routes network given all possible dynamics is unquestionably the worst woe in faster road communication both in intensity and magnitude. Traffic jam affects basically the urbanites and those occasionally visiting cities from far-flung areas while disorganized and the roundabout land routes tax the valuable time as well as money of each and every citizen throughout the length and breadth of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has currently a total length of 20947.73km usable roads which are customarily divided into three broad categories: National highway-3544.06 km, Regional highway-4278.07 km, Zilla or Feeder road-13247.79km. The trademark character featuring these roads in all three tiers unfortunately happens to be the presence of innumerable twists and turns within a disappointingly shortest distance. In a landmark article published in the prestigious Weekly Guardian on December 09, 2012, Annie Kelly described Dhaka-Sylhet highway as the world’s deadliest road. In her investigative and revealing article, Kelly accurately identified the worst troubles and hazards while travelling the road in a fact-finding mission. The towering factors of road accidents and the slowest ever causes of traffic movement on the said road that figure prominently in her article include among others the blind turns and twists, the zigzag course of its unfolding forward, poorly insufficient safety features like speed limit-signed posts, presence of innumerable speed-breakers, dangerous pot-holes, skidding pitfalls and above all casual or even the zero road vigilance and monitoring. In her journey down the road she witnessed a series of accidents and a number of fatal casualties as a result of these catalytic factors.

In fact, each and every road right from the national highway down to the feeder ones, dangerously hazardous bend trend rules supreme everywhere in road communication of Bangladesh. Compared to the roads in developed countries and even many developing ones, for reasons unknown the road features in Bangladesh conspicuously project a completely opposite picture. While the most prominent feature of overseas roads even at a cursory glance demonstrate clearly a straight lining  onward unfolding right from the zero point towards the destination, the roads in Bangladesh are outrageously marked by all catalytic factors for causing accidents. Indeed, it will not be an exaggeration to brand the roads of Bangladesh as death-traps. Road accidents in Bangladesh have virtually become the order of the day and even more frustrating episode regarding the road scenario is that the toll manifestly maintains a vertically rising graph with the each passing day.

In no other sectors like the one in road communication where the scenarios of unexpected death and casualties are so inseparably involved but still then a long-term comprehensive and pragmatic Safe Road Map is yet to be at sight let alone its implementation. Although plethora of seminars and symposiums are being held routinely by different organizations and NGOs since long, little is being practically done to address and redress the most leading issue like deaths on the roads. Who will pay heed to whom? To our dismay, the authority concerned customarily has taken to its hackneyed culture of rhetoric to defuse public furor with a hot package of oral actions. Since holding seminars and workshops is a mandatory schedule of the welfare organizations, outbursts of explosive rhetoric are just the counter schedules on government part. In between these two contrary running streams of rhetoric, innumerable innocent lives are being crushed under the wheels.

To me, the mechanism of ensuring road safety as well as faster communication lies somewhere else other than enforcing traffic rules and taking punitive actions. Of course, we have to opt for these measures. But prior to them, we have to change our way of looking at the whole gamut of the road safety issue through striking at the root of the problem by beginning right from the basement. Undeniably, our roads are in the worst shapes given the minimum global standard in terms of surface finishes, width and straightness. How can we expect to get better, faster and safer road communication leaving these roads at their present state?

 Moreover, the interlinking of these roads are presently in such a horrible state that basically because of this reckless, circuitous interlink travelling passengers cost a huge amount of their valuable time and money while using these roads in everyday transaction. In addition, the expected speed of life is being slowed down frustratingly as well as the mobility of economy is being badly handicapped. We have no other alternative left but to streamline these bad-shaped, traffic-unfriendly, roundabout land-routes by bringing them within a well-coordinated coverage of reshaping and restructuring once we want to accelerate the speed of life and rejuvenate the economy. By streamlining I do clearly mean reshaping and restructuring the existing badly-shaped roundabout land routes network with a view to simplifying and systemizing them by removing dangerous twists and turns and synchronizing and tagging them where necessary with the railway linkage facilities.

 Obviously, it is hugely expensive and extravagant project but not an impossible one. What we need most here is the strongest commitment patterned on unalloyed patriotism. Here the best possible option for us is to proceed by phases. Hopefully, in our noblest effort of restructuring road infrastructure we will definitely get the financial support from World Bank, ADB and other international donor agencies as well as friendly countries who are already the stake-holders and development partners in many our development projects. Once we can translate our dream of building the giant bridge over the mighty Jamuna, restructuring and renovating the whole road communication network is surely possible. This over-ambitious project will definitely act as added inspiration for a go-ahead signal.

In the existing communication set-up of Bangladesh, land routes are not well synchronized with railway network almost across the whole country. Once they are coherently tied together, the result will be nothing else than a streamlined communication network with faster and safer movement of both passengers and vehicles. For example, presently there is no direct railway access between Bogra and Sirajganj. Passengers opting to travel from Bogra to Dhaka or vice-versa have to recourse to a cumbersome, time-consuming long circuitous via railway route. They have to start from Bogra for Santahar then Iswardy to Sirajganj and then finally to Dhaka. If Bogra is connected to Sirajganj by a railway track, the distance between Bogra and Dhaka will be instantly reduced by 100 kilometres and one and a half hour of valuable time will be saved. In this connection, a project has reportedly been finalized but unfortunately again for machinations of influential pressure group we are yet to see the least signs of implementation.         

Restructuring a streamlined communication network is not a final foolproof warrantee for a safer and faster global standard communication network. In parallel to streamlining process, we have to install a dynamic, capable and modernized road maintenance authority for safeguarding and maintaining roads within shortest possible time if and when necessary. Last but not the least in precedence of importance, a strict round-the-clock traffic vigilance mechanism has to be put into operations. Once all these mentioned components of road communication network come to work together within a single whole then it will be a perfectly streamlined road communication network which is bound to yield the optimum speed and safety.
 

The writer, Assistant

Professor of English in

Bogra Cantonment Public School &

College, is a contributor to

The Independent.

E-mail: [email protected]

Journeys into insecurity and uncertainty

The mechanism of ensuring road safety as well as faster communication lies not just in enforcing traffic rules and taking punitive actions

Other than traffic jam the next but not the less cumbersome trouble in road communication is certainly the clumsy and ill-assorted co-ordination among the available land routes across the country. In fact, ill-synchronized and chaotic land routes network given all possible dynamics is unquestionably the worst woe in faster road communication both in intensity and magnitude. Traffic jam affects basically the urbanites and those occasionally visiting cities from far-flung areas while disorganized and the roundabout land routes tax the valuable time as well as money of each and every citizen throughout the length and breadth of Bangladesh. Bangladesh has currently a total length of 20947.73km usable roads which are customarily divided into three broad categories: National highway-3544.06 km, Regional highway-4278.07 km, Zilla or Feeder road-13247.79km. The trademark character featuring these roads in all three tiers unfortunately happens to be the presence of innumerable twists and turns within a disappointingly shortest distance. In a landmark article published in the prestigious Weekly Guardian on December 09, 2012, Annie Kelly described Dhaka-Sylhet highway as the worlds deadliest road. In her investigative and revealing article, Kelly accurately identified the worst troubles and hazards while travelling the road in a fact-finding mission. The towering factors of road accidents and the slowest ever causes of traffic movement on the said road that figure prominently in her article include among others the blind turns and twists, the zigzag course of its unfolding forward, poorly insufficient safety features like speed limit-signed posts, presence of innumerable speed-breakers, dangerous pot-holes, skidding pitfalls and above all casual or even the zero road vigilance and monitoring. In her journey down the road she witnessed a series of accidents and a number of fatal casualties as a result of these catalytic factors. In fact, each and every road right from the national highway down to the feeder ones, dangerously hazardous bend trend rules supreme everywhere in road communication of Bangladesh. Compared to the roads in developed countries and even many developing ones, for reasons unknown the road features in Bangladesh conspicuously project a completely opposite picture. While the most prominent feature of overseas roads even at a cursory glance demonstrate clearly a straight lining onward unfolding right from the zero point towards the destination, the roads in Bangladesh are outrageously marked by all catalytic factors for causing accidents. Indeed, it will not be an exaggeration to brand the roads of Bangladesh as death-traps. Road accidents in Bangladesh have virtually become the order of the day and even more frustrating episode regarding the road scenario is that the toll manifestly maintains a vertically rising graph with the each passing day. In no other sectors like the one in road communication where the scenarios of unexpected death and casualties are so inseparably involved but still then a long-term comprehensive and pragmatic Safe Road Map is yet to be at sight let alone its implementation. Although plethora of seminars and symposiums are being held routinely by different organizations and NGOs since long, little is being practically done to address and redress the most leading issue like deaths on the roads. Who will pay heed to whom? To our dismay, the authority concerned customarily has taken to its hackneyed culture of rhetoric to defuse public furor with a hot package of oral actions. Since holding seminars and workshops is a mandatory schedule of the welfare organizations, outbursts of explosive rhetoric are just the counter schedules on government part. In between these two contrary running streams of rhetoric, innumerable innocent lives are being crushed under the wheels. To me, the mechanism of ensuring road safety as well as faster communication lies somewhere else other than enforcing traffic rules and taking punitive actions. Of course, we have to opt for these measures. But prior to them, we have to change our way of looking at the whole gamut of the road safety issue through striking at the root of the problem by beginning right from the basement. Undeniably, our roads are in the worst shapes given the minimum global standard in terms of surface finishes, width and straightness. How can we expect to get better, faster and safer road communication leaving these roads at their present state? Moreover, the interlinking of these roads are presently in such a horrible state that basically because of this reckless, circuitous interlink travelling passengers cost a huge amount of their valuable time and money while using these roads in everyday transaction. In addition, the expected speed of life is being slowed down frustratingly as well as the mobility of economy is being badly handicapped. We have no other alternative left but to streamline these bad-shaped, traffic-unfriendly, roundabout land-routes by bringing them within a well-coordinated coverage of reshaping and restructuring once we want to accelerate the speed of life and rejuvenate the economy. By streamlining I do clearly mean reshaping and restructuring the existing badly-shaped roundabout land routes network with a view to simplifying and systemizing them by removing dangerous twists and turns and synchronizing and tagging them where necessary with the railway linkage facilities. Obviously, it is hugely expensive and extravagant project but not an impossible one. What we need most here is the strongest commitment patterned on unalloyed patriotism. Here the best possible option for us is to proceed by phases. Hopefully, in our noblest effort of restructuring road infrastructure we will definitely get the financial support from World Bank, ADB and other international donor agencies as well as friendly countries who are already the stake-holders and development partners in many our development projects. Once we can translate our dream of building the giant bridge over the mighty Jamuna, restructuring and renovating the whole road communication network is surely possible. This over-ambitious project will definitely act as added inspiration for a go-ahead signal. In the existing communication set-up of Bangladesh, land routes are not well synchronized with railway network almost across the whole country. Once they are coherently tied together, the result will be nothing else than a streamlined communication network with faster and safer movement of both passengers and vehicles. For example, presently there is no direct railway access between Bogra and Sirajganj. Passengers opting to travel from Bogra to Dhaka or vice-versa have to recourse to a cumbersome, time-consuming long circuitous via railway route. They have to start from Bogra for Santahar then Iswardy to Sirajganj and then finally to Dhaka. If Bogra is connected to Sirajganj by a railway track, the distance between Bogra and Dhaka will be instantly reduced by 100 kilometres and one and a half hour of valuable time will be saved. In this connection, a project has reportedly been finalized but unfortunately again for machinations of influential pressure group we are yet to see the least signs of implementation. Restructuring a streamlined communication network is not a final foolproof warrantee for a safer and faster global standard communication network. In parallel to streamlining process, we have to install a dynamic, capable and modernized road maintenance authority for safeguarding and maintaining roads within shortest possible time if and when necessary. Last but not the least in precedence of importance, a strict round-the-clock traffic vigilance mechanism has to be put into operations. Once all these mentioned components of road communication network come to work together within a single whole then it will be a perfectly streamlined road communication network which is bound to yield the optimum speed and safety. The writer, Assistant Professor of English in Bogra Cantonment Public School College, is a contributor to The Independent. E-mail: [email protected]