Khagrachhari-Rangamati road turns nuisance for commuters
8-km run-down stretch needs urgent repair
Turned into mere rubble due to lack of repair for long, this portion of Rangamati-Khagrachhari road gives a painful experience to passengers of vehicles plying the area. Photo: STAR
People continue to suffer as the 'worst' eight kilometers of Khagrachhari-Rangamati road remain unrepaired for lack of necessary funds. Most portions of the stretch have turned totally unfit for vehicular movement due to large and frequent severe potholes. If no repair work is done before the next rainy season, sufferings of the people would mount, said locals. According to local Roads and Highways department officials, they repaired some points, but the eight km from Manikchhari Mukh to Agriculture College and Bogachhari to Atharomile area, which is badly damaged, could not be repaired due to fund crisis. “Condition of the road will worsen during the next rainy season if no renovation work is done on urgent basis,” said Md Ismail Hossain Miah, executive engineer of Rangamati RHD. “We cannot reach the district town in time with agricultural products or patients from our village because of worst road condition", said Sukhendu Chakma, a villager of Bogachhari. “Travelling to Rangamati from Khagrachhari to study at Rangamati Government College has become really difficult,” said Mousumi Chakma, a resident of Khabangparia in Khagrachhari who is a second year student of the college. It takes one and half hours more to reach the destinations to and from both district towns of Rangamati and Khagrachhari, said Md Yousuf, a bus driver adding that it required only two and half hours earlier. Moreover, tyres and others parts of vehicles very often become damaged because of the bad road condition, Yousuf added. Earlier, the Tk 9819.58 lakh Denmark-GoB funded 'Khagrachhari-Rangamati Road Rehabilitation Project (KRRRP)' to renovate the road was postponed as the Danida authorities refused to continue the project following abduction of three foreign consultants in 2001 from Kalapahar area in Naiachar upazila, said the Rangamati RHD authorities. From the fiscal year 2001-2002 to 2006-2007, the government allotted Tk 3117.97 lakh against the project and two-thirds of the project have so far been implemented, according to the authorities. But in 2008-2009, although the government again provided a 'token' fund to repair the road, it was not allocated for the purpose for reasons unknown. “As it is an important road for the locals and tourists, government should allocate necessary fund,” said engineer Md Ismail Hossain.
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