Pabna Correspondent:

The 11-kilometre Bandherhaat-Rakhalgachhi road in Bera upazila of Pabna has long been in a sorry state, causing sufferings to locals.

The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) constructed the road in 2018 at a cost of Tk 98 crore as part of an initiative to shift ferry services from Kazirhaat ferry ghat to Khaschar area of the Jamuna river to reduce travel distance for ferry to Dhaka’s Aricha.

However, the initiative has not been implemented over the past six years.

Md Al Amin, an assistant engineer of RHD’s Pabna circle office, said the distance between Dhaka and Pabna is more than 233 kilometres through the Jamuna Bridge, but it comes down to around 110 to 115 kilometres using the Aricha-Kazirhaat ferry route, including 11 kilometres across the Jamuna, he said.

Shifting the ferry ghat from Kazirhaat to Khaschar point of the river would have reduced the distance across the river further. To this end, the Bandherhaat-Rakhalgachhi road was constructed as part of implementing that plan in future.

“It takes at least one and a half hours to reach Aricha ghat from Kazirhaat point. If the ferry ghat shifts to Khaschar, the distance would come down to 4.5 kilometres, taking only around 30 to 40 minutes by ferry, making the ferry service more convenient,” said Md Sabbir Rahman, an official of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation at Kazirhaat ferry ghat.

Contacted, Nepal Chandra Debnath, executive engineer of BIWTA at its Aricha office, said they have no plan to shift the Kazirhaat ferry ghat at this moment due to insufficient road facilities for the proposed ferry ghat at Khaschar point.

“The existing road is not enough for the proposed ferry ghat at Khaschar point. We need to construct 5 kilometres more road to this end. However, BIWTA has no plan to shift the ferry ghat at this moment,” he said.

Due to the lack of initiative to shift the ferry ghat, the Bandherhaat-Rakhalgachhi road has not been utilised to serve its purpose over the past six years, while also being left without maintenance.

Although constructed for movement of all sorts of vehicles, it has been used mainly by lighter vehicles like three-wheelers for local commutes.

At present, the road lies with its bitumen surface worn off while bricks and sand underneath lie bare. Numerous small and large potholes have formed along the entire stretch, making movement of vehicles risky and uncomfortable.

“Due to the utterly dilapidated condition of the road, even three-wheelers, rickshaw-vans or cycles find it difficult to use it at present,” said Abdur Rashid, a van puller from Rakhalgachhi area.

Locals blamed the use of poor construction materials for the road’s present state.

“The road was supposed to withstand movement of heavy vehicles. However, its present condition suggests that the construction work was carried out using poor quality materials,” alleged Eusuf Ali, a resident of Paikanda village.

RHD assistant engineer Md Al Amin, however, said the road got damaged over the years due to lack of maintenance.

“A new project of Tk 978 crore has been submitted to the Road Division to extend this road by constructing another five kilometres to reach Khaschar point of the river. If the project is approved, the road would then become more effective in enhancing regional communication,” he added.

Contacted, Md Monsurul Aziz, executive engineer of RHD in Pabna, said there is also a plan to set up a road link among northern, southern and Dhaka regions by constructing a three-way bridge to connect Pabna, Rajbari and Manikganj districts through the Padma and Jamuna rivers.

“Bridge Division is working on it. If the bridge is constructed then there will be no need of ferry service. Shifting the ferry ghat therefore depends on the future plan for road connectivity here,” he said.

“Nonetheless, whether the bridge is constructed or the ferry ghat is shifted, this road will be used as a connecting road. So, we plan to develop the Bandherhaat-Rakhalgachhi road for useful connectivity,” he added.