Illegal structures contribute to sticky traffic situation

It is forcing different city points to fall under the clutches of unbearable gridlock gradually.

The high-rise buildings without adequate parking lots and entry spaces are contributing to the traffic congestion in the city.

Forum for Planned Chittagong (FPC), a voluntary organisation, sent a letter to the Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) chairman recently in this regard.

FPC in its letter gave some details on violation of rules and by-rules related to the construction and use of buildings.

It said a number of high-rise buildings were constructed recently beside the important thoroughfares like CDA Avenue, OR Nizam Road, Golepaharer More and Mehedibag in violation of the rules resulting in serious traffic jam.

The letter signed by FPC Executive Vice President Engineer ABMA Baset, urged CDA to take immediate measures to check it.

Meanwhile, CDA identified some buildings and markets constructed flouting the approved designs. It also asked the owners to keep parking lot and adequate space in front of their buildings for smooth movement, CDA sources said.

Besides, mushroom growth of educational institutions along the city streets is also creating gridlock at different points of the city roads. Jamal Khan, Dampara CDA Avenue, Chittagong College road, Ice Factory road and Zakir Hossain road are the most affected areas.

Community centres, without sufficient parking spaces, also contributed to the menace. Vehicles of bridal parties, parked in rows in front of the community centres at Love lane, Mehedibag, Nasirabad, Muradpur and Chawk Bazar, hinder traffic.

Moreover, there are several unofficial bus stands at Dampara, Station Road, Kadamtoli, Cinema Palace and Olonker intersection where buses stop illegally causing round-the-clock gridlock.

At the backdrop of the situation, CDA took up a project to expand roads and set up several intersection in the city at a cost of Tk 8 crore.

CDA also decided to determine a new alignment for the road stretching from Panchlaish junction to Muradpur Rail Gate No-1 with a width of 72-ft and fixing new alignment for Muradpur junction with 100-ft radius.

But, very little progress has been made so far.

Under the project, CDA demolished a good number of structures that stood in the way of expanding the roads and intersections and hindered acquisition of land at Bahodderhat and Anderkilla areas.

But, after the eviction the expansion work is now going on in a snail's pace that has been inspiring illegal occupants in many points of the areas to resettle.

Expansion of road and intersection at Anderkilla at a cost of Tk 4 crore could not be of much help as the narrow entry point of an adjoining diversion road creates traffic jam there.

Some 50 yards of the diversion road stretching from Anderkilla intersection to Red Crescent Maternity Hospital needed expanded to reap the fruit of expansion, sources said.

A boundary wall of a hospital stood in the way of expanding 50-yard stretch of the diversion road, CDA sources.

On June 8, CDA asked the civil surgeon, Chittagong to stop construction of the wall, they said.