Khulna truck terminal still lies unused

The truck terminal in Khulna city is yet to go into full operation even after a decade of its construction, assumedly thanks to its awkward location. On the other hand, the truck terminal has turned into a safe haven for the drug addicts, gamblers and other types of anti-social elements. They are using the terminal for several criminal activities. Besides, the building of the truck terminal is being damaged day by day due to lack of proper maintenance.
Meanwhile, some unscrupulous people in the area took away many important parts of the building, including doors, windows, rods and bricks.
Although the terminal, run by the Khulna City Corporation (KCC), is equipped with all the necessary facilities, including parking provision for about 600 trucks, it remains almost unused every day, according to the terminal sources. Of the total space of the terminal, only about 6.66 per cent is used for parking trucks, sources said.
The terminal constructed on six acres of land near Sonadanga central bus terminal with government fund of around Tk 5 crore was opened for parking on December 22, 2001. In May, 2008, a wholesale kitchen market was built near the terminal and since then it has lost attraction, the sources claimed.
While visited, this correspondent found that, some gamblers occupy the premises of the truck terminal for gambling and some drug addicts especially hemp takers take drugs sitting on the premises. Abdur Rahim Boksh Dudu, general secretary of Khulna Divisional Truck Workers’ Union, said around 500 trucks enter the city every day but only 30 to 40 come to the terminal, mostly for repair work. Operators have to pay Tk 30 to park each truck for every 24 hours.  
There are 40 rooms at the terminal for transport agency offices and most of them have been allotted but the agencies are yet to set up their offices.
The drivers do not want to bring trucks to the terminal for absence of agency offices.
The terminal has all facilities including all-time electricity, tight security, telephone lines and healthcare service. There is a three-storey boarding house and a canteen for truck drivers and helpers but they are yet to start functioning even seven years after their construction for lack of customers.
Some truck owners and drivers told The Independent that their agency offices are mostly located at Kadamtala, Nurnagar, Daulatpur, Maniktata, and Rupsha in the city. “Our customers have become so familiar with the places that they do not go to the terminal built at an awkward place in the city,” said Aminul Islam, a truck owner. The president of Khulna truck and cover-van owners association, Abdul Gaffar Biswas, said they could not send their trucks to the terminal, as it is located at a place not convenient to their business.
Many city dwellers alleged that most of the trucks remain parked near the roadside agency offices and on the busy city roads, including Kalibari Road, KD Ghosh Road and Barmasil Station Road causing traffic congestion.   KCC’s estate officer Nuruzzaman Talukder said they have planned to launch a mobile court drive to stop illegal parking of trucks in the corporation area. He also said the authorities would take steps to make the truck drivers and helpers aware of illegal parking so that they get encouraged to use the terminal for parking.

Khulna truck terminal still lies unused

The truck terminal in Khulna city is yet to go into full operation even after a decade of its construction, assumedly thanks to its awkward location. On the other hand, the truck terminal has turned into a safe haven for the drug addicts, gamblers and other types of anti-social elements. They are using the terminal for several criminal activities. Besides, the building of the truck terminal is being damaged day by day due to lack of proper maintenance. Meanwhile, some unscrupulous people in the area took away many important parts of the building, including doors, windows, rods and bricks. Although the terminal, run by the Khulna City Corporation (KCC), is equipped with all the necessary facilities, including parking provision for about 600 trucks, it remains almost unused every day, according to the terminal sources. Of the total space of the terminal, only about 6.66 per cent is used for parking trucks, sources said. The terminal constructed on six acres of land near Sonadanga central bus terminal with government fund of around Tk 5 crore was opened for parking on December 22, 2001. In May, 2008, a wholesale kitchen market was built near the terminal and since then it has lost attraction, the sources claimed. While visited, this correspondent found that, some gamblers occupy the premises of the truck terminal for gambling and some drug addicts especially hemp takers take drugs sitting on the premises. Abdur Rahim Boksh Dudu, general secretary of Khulna Divisional Truck Workers Union, said around 500 trucks enter the city every day but only 30 to 40 come to the terminal, mostly for repair work. Operators have to pay Tk 30 to park each truck for every 24 hours. There are 40 rooms at the terminal for transport agency offices and most of them have been allotted but the agencies are yet to set up their offices. The drivers do not want to bring trucks to the terminal for absence of agency offices. The terminal has all facilities including all-time electricity, tight security, telephone lines and healthcare service. There is a three-storey boarding house and a canteen for truck drivers and helpers but they are yet to start functioning even seven years after their construction for lack of customers. Some truck owners and drivers told The Independent that their agency offices are mostly located at Kadamtala, Nurnagar, Daulatpur, Maniktata, and Rupsha in the city. Our customers have become so familiar with the places that they do not go to the terminal built at an awkward place in the city, said Aminul Islam, a truck owner. The president of Khulna truck and cover-van owners association, Abdul Gaffar Biswas, said they could not send their trucks to the terminal, as it is located at a place not convenient to their business. Many city dwellers alleged that most of the trucks remain parked near the roadside agency offices and on the busy city roads, including Kalibari Road, KD Ghosh Road and Barmasil Station Road causing traffic congestion. KCCs estate officer Nuruzzaman Talukder said they have planned to launch a mobile court drive to stop illegal parking of trucks in the corporation area. He also said the authorities would take steps to make the truck drivers and helpers aware of illegal parking so that they get encouraged to use the terminal for parking.