Eleven risky turnings of Saidpur town bypass
Saidpur town bypass poses serious risk of accidents due to 11 risky turnings including this one at Wapda point as drivers, often hurrying away on the smooth road, find it difficult to sense coming of vehicles from the opposite direction. Photo: STAR
Eleven turnings of Saidpur town bypass on busy Dhaka--Dinajpur highway put the passengers and transport workers at high risk of accidents. The 10-kilometre bypass saw over 200 serious accidents that killed 125 people and injured hundreds of others during the last two decades, said sources of police and transport associations. Roads and Highways Department (RHD) in 1993 constructed the bypass, starting from Saidpur bus terminal point of Dinajpur--Dhaka highway at the east and joining the same highway at Rabeya Flour Mill point in the west, to ease traffic congestion in densely populated Saidpur railway town under the district. Everyday thousands of vehicles from Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Panchagarh, Nilphamari and Dhaka ply this road. Drivers tend to increase speed of vehicles on the smooth bypass but many of them, especially the newcomers, find it difficult to adjust with the formation of the road as the turnings cause problem to see vehicles coming from the opposite direction. The most risky turnings on this bypass at Bokpara, Dhalagachh, Asmatiya Madrasa point, Golahat, Wapda point and Sarkarpara often see big or small accidents, said drivers and locals. The last serious accident on this road occurred on November 10 last year in which four people were killed and 50 others injured as a speeding BRTC bus bound for Thakurgaon fell into a roadside ditch at Asmotia Madrasa turning. "Saidpur bypass on Dinajpur-Dhaka highway has become a matter of concern for bus owners and transport workers as the 11 turnings see frequent accidents. We urged the RHD several times to construct a straight road removing the risky turnings but to no effect," said Shahjahan Choudhury, president of bus-minibus owners association in Nilphamari. District traffic inspector Shamsul Alam said, "The traffic department does not have sufficient manpower to deploy at the risky points of the bypass. Besides, there is lack of adequate signals to make the drivers aware of the condition of the road. We have brought the matter to the notice of RHD to set up signals immediately.” Admitting the vulnerability of vehicles due to several risky turnings on Saidpur bypass, RHD executive engineer of Mahbubul Alam Khan said, "The department is planning to take a project centrally to remove risky turnings from important roads throughout the country, including those on Saidpur bypass. The project will be implemented soon."
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