Traffic imbroglio
When Dhaka is writhing under vicious traffic turmoil, the words of the prime minister in parliament gave us a sort of relief. On Oct 7 she said before the assembly in a question-answer hour that elevated expressway, underground railway and monorail for Dhaka city and a four-lane highway for Dhaka-Chittagong route were very much under the government's active consideration. Tenders submitted for the conversion of the highway to four lanes were already under scrutiny. On the city traffic imbroglio she also stressed the urgent need of constructing more car parks and additional roads, introducing staggered timetables for offices and educational institutions, school bus services, expansion of traffic police force, and advised the drivers to follow traffic rules. The theoretical aspects are honestly portrayed and there can be no second opinion on the facts produced.
Experts prescribed the same antidotes on countless occasions. All ended up at anticipation stage. No denying, all the suggestions put forward by the prime minister are long term visions though indispensable for a stable solution to the exploding traffic mess. If the proposed schemes are taken up for implementation right at the moment, in all rational thinking we have to wait for the results for a minimum of another six years or more. These projects involve an enormous volume of money forcing us ultimately to depend on the whims of the donors. We know, a number of expensive bridges are about to be taken up for construction.
Another issue is the bitter bureaucratic tangle that has to be encountered at each stage of a project from hatching to delivery. This has been the natural trend persisting since the colonial days. As we learned, we will be waiting to see if the tenders for the Dhaka-Chittagong highway expansion will altogether be put to re-tender leading to a delay of another six months, or, by a stroke of gracious fortune, get a nod for a go. Projects like underground railway and monorail are intricately technical demanding expert opinion on each segment of the network configuration. The final design has to be immaculately foolproof while the specialized contractors have to be in the world-class category. Our experience with the Jamuna bridge is not happy at all.
But what happens to Dhaka residents in the intervening period? The number of vehicles on road along with the spurt of population is leaping up. Will an unconscious patient ever be able to reach the nearest hospital, a traveller avail the plane or an examinee enter the examination hall on time? The endless gridlock is vitiating atmosphere pumping out deadly monoxide gas into our nostrils. Days ahead will be far more difficult, and a total collapse of city life is just pealing out its imminent arrival. The immediate remedy lies in some positive short-term measures which have to be worked out to put into operation on emergency basis. There were plenty of suggestions from different quarters all of which need careful study for preparing a short-term plan.
Let the long term projects proceed their way but the people meanwhile cannot be allowed to perish in the deepening limbo.
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