<i>Risky road turnings in Saidpur</i>
10 km of Dinajpur-Dhaka Highway sees frequent accidents
Ten turnings on the 10-kilometre Saidpur town bypass of Dhaka-Dinajpur highway, like this one at Sarkarpara, make the road accident-prone as vehicles coming from the opposite direction often escape drivers' eyes.Photo: STAR
Over 100 people were killed and many more injured in around 200 accidents since opening of Saidpur town bypass on Dinajpur-Dhaka highway 18 years ago as turnings at short distances make the 10-kilometre road risky. In the past, densely populated Saidpur railway town in Nilphamari district saw serious traffic jam as the vehicles on Dinajpur-Dhaka highway passed through it and railway carriages frequently came to Saidpur Railway Workshop for repair work or overhauling. There are also a good number of schools and colleges in Saidpur town. It is also a well-known wholesale market in the northern region. To rid the town dwellers and commuters from the nuisance of regular traffic jam, Roads and Highways Department (RHD) constructed the wide bypass. It starts from Saidpur bus terminal point of Dinajpur-Dhaka highway at the eastern part of the town, takes a U-turn in the midway and leads to the same highway at Rabeya Flour Mill point in the west of the town. Everyday thousands of vehicles to and from Dinajpur, Panchagarh, Nilphamari and Dhaka ply this road. Drivers tend to increase the speed of their vehicles on the wide busy road but it sees frequent accidents as the drivers often fail to watch vehicles coming from the opposite direction at as many as 11 turnings on the road, said drivers and locals. The most risky turnings on this bypass are at Bokpara, Dhalagachh intersection, and Sarkarpara and near Asmatiya madrasa and Wapda office. On May 22 last, 40 passengers were injured as a night coach turned turtle at Dhalagachh intersection. Several of them were taken to Rangpur Medical College Hospital with serious injuries. A companion of renowned freedom fighter and journalist Shahriar Kabir, also central convenor of Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee, was killed as their vehicle faced a serious accident at Bokpara turning when they were going to Thakurgaon to attend a meeting demanding trial of war criminals in 2005. RHD sources said the road is a curved one but there is no engineering defect in its construction. "The traffic department does not have sufficient manpower to deploy at the risky points of the bypass. Still we are sincere to control traffic movement to avoid accidents," said Shamsul Haque, the traffic inspector of Saidpur. "Sufficient signals have been set up on this road to make people aware about the position of the road. Reckless driving by inconsiderate bus and truck drivers is also responsible for frequent accidents on this road," Nilphamari RHD Executive Engineer Mahbubul Alam Khan said.
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