No end to public suffering under Hanif flyover

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Dilapidated roads, unauthorised structures and bus parking under Mayor Mohammad Hanif Flyover are causing heavy traffic congestion in the busy areas of Jatrabari, Saidabad and Gulistan in the capital city.
People crossing the areas under the flyover had been suffering immensely allegedly due to the mismanagement and negligence of the authorities concerned since the flyover, constructed under the public-private partnership, was opened to traffic on October 11, 2013.
The situation aggravated after the opening of the Padma Bridge in June which increased the traffic movements in the areas.
Different bus companies turned the main road under the flyover as their depots while some places were occupied by illegal businesses.
Many other parts of the road from Chankharpool to South Jatrabari under the flyover have also become parking spots for buses narrowing down it for commuters.
The road in front of the Jatrabari wholesale market is in most dilapidated condition leaving commuters, businesspeople and transport workers to suffer immensely.
Md Nirob, a businessman at Jatrabari wholesale market, said that pick–up van carrying goods for the market often overturn making them pay extra in repairing jobs while many people suffer accidents in the rainy season unable to measure holes in the road.
‘It’s a terrible situation. We are suffering a lot,’ he said, adding that if one vehicle met with an accident it creates a huge traffic jam that sometimes lingers for hours.
He said that the roads were repaired a year ago but they got damaged within three months.
Md Ariful Islam, a pick-up van driver said that it was becoming difficult to drive on the roads under the flyover.
‘We need to use the road to avoid paying toll, which is Tk 260. But driving under the flyover is extremely difficult,’ he said, urging the government to repair the roads for making communications easier for them.
In Gulistan part of the flyover, dozens of one-storied accommodations were built where fruit shops, tea stalls, poultry shops, were seen operating.
Wastes were found dumped in places under the flyover haphazardly under the eyes of the authorities concerned.
Many horse carts were seen parking on the road under the flyover near the Chankarpool area leaving it further difficult for commuters to use.
Mohammad Ali Asgar, the proprietor of Shipon Tom Tom Service, told New Age that they were doing the business and using the roads for years.
‘Frankly, we did not take any permission from the government for using the place. Sometimes city corporation officials conduct raids and we flee away to come back again,’ he said.
Urban planner and architect Iqbal Habib alleged that contractors and other businesspeople occupied public properties due to the negligence and mismanagement of city authorities.
‘If anyone constructs a flyover, the roads under it do not belong to them. It is public property and the city authorities have failed to make sure that the place is used for the benefit of the public,’ he said.