Waterlogging damages Zahir Raihan Road

Frequent waterlogging has left a portion of Zahir Raihan Road stretching from Chankharpul Intersection to Bakshibazar Intersection in Dhaka in a terrible state.

Moreover, insensible residents throw their household garbage on the road, adding to its woes.

Most private cars, rickshaws, and vans avoid the 500m stretch of road that is riddled with potholes, leading to severe traffic congestion on the main road.

"Wheels of rickshaws and vans often get stuck on the road. Whenever I bring goods, I ask my staff to be aware of large potholes," said Md Mohan, manager of Al-Madina Vulcanizing situated beside the road.          

"Just recently, I was bringing some goods on a rickshaw when one of the wheels got stuck in the mud," he said.       

The 1.8km Zahir Raihan Road, stretching from Chankharpul Intersection to Nilkhet Intersection, used to be two lanes. However, after construction of Mayor Hanif Flyover, the road from Chankharpul to Bakshibazar was made into three lanes.

Although the condition of the northern and the middle lanes are good, the southern lane has always been neglected for some reason, locals claimed.

"No initiative has been taken to repair it," said Hafez Ali, a resident of the area.

Abdul Hye, caretaker of an under-construction building, said after the road was turned into three lanes, the old drainage system stopped functioning properly.

He said the water used to flow north from south, but now the middle and the northern lanes are higher than the southern lane.       

"The southern lane becomes easily waterlogged," he said, adding that water washes away concrete leaving the road in a very poor condition. 

Fariduddin Ahmed Ratan, councillor of ward-20, said they would take necessary measures very soon to repair the road and solve the waterlogging problem.