INDISCRIMINATE and uncoordinated road digging by the city authorities of Dhaka and other agencies, often dragged into the monsoon season, cause sufferings to people every year. Dhaka people brace for not only water stagnation but also the added ordeal of haphazardly dug-up roads. Year after year, the authorities carry out indiscriminate and uncoordinated excavation, leaving neighbourhoods paralysed. Despite the Dhaka City Road Digging Rules 2019, which prohibits road digging in June鈥揙ctober and mandates that no road remain excavated for more than 30 days, violations have become the norm rather than the exception. The scale of the problem is staggering. A few dozen stretches of road now lie dug up, in many cases with piles of construction materials dumped indiscriminately for months, obstructing pedestrians and vehicles alike. A photograph that 抖阴精品 published on September 23 shows a dug-up road stretch at Hatirpool, with piles of construction and dug-up materials dumped indiscriminately. Some areas have been left in such conditions for more than a month, disrupting life and livelihoods. That this continues even after the framing of rules is a testament to the lax enforcement and the indifference of the authorities.
Multiple agencies 鈥� the two city corporations, Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority, Titas Gas, the Public Works Department and others 鈥� are involved. The lack of coordination among the agencies has created a vicious cycle. Residents often see the same road excavated by one agency, repaired inadequately, only to be torn open again by another. In many places, there are not even signs to inform citizens of which agency is responsible for the work, constituting a breach of the rules. Authorities argue that they warn agencies to complete work before the monsoon season and have even doubled fees for digging during this season, alongside introducing financial penalties for delays. Yet, the reality exposes the ineffectiveness of these measures. Urban planners rightly point out that the underlying issues remain unaddressed. Funding cycles are partly to blame, with agencies receiving money towards the end of the financial year, just before the monsoon, forcing rushed and poorly planned projects. Moreover, the reliance on inexperienced contractors lacking resources, skills and proper work plans aggravates the problem. The menace of uncoordinated road digging is not confined to Dhaka alone. Other cities and highways suffer similar chaos.
It is high time for policy-level interventions. First, project funds need to be released early in the financial year to prevent hurried, ill-timed works. Second, strict coordination mechanisms should be enforced so that no agency can dig roads without clearance and a clear schedule aligning with others. Third, penalties, including blacklisting contractors and holding agency heads accountable for violations, should be meaningful.