Footpath reconstruction an irritant for Dhanmondi residents

The slow and unplanned footpath renovations in the capital’s Dhanmondi is making life difficult for pedestrians and residents of the area.

Residents in the area have complained that minor work is taking more time than usual and the labourers working there are also behaving irresponsibly.

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has been renovating footpaths, along with cleaning the drains underneath, in several areas of Dhanmondi area for more than a month. 

Visiting Dhanmondi, this reporter found that work was ongoing in Dhanmondi 15 area.

Footpath construction on the side of a road in Dhanmondi 15, August 26, 2021 | Dhaka tribune

According to the manager of the reconstruction project, Al-Amin, DSCC has been working on the road for the last 15 days and is trying to complete the work soon.

However, residents claim that the work is being done in such a careless manner that it is obstructing them from entering and leaving their homes.

"My mother is suffering from a kidney disease. We need to take her for dialysis twice a week. Yesterday, when I returned from the hospital, it was raining and there was a 1.5-foot-deep ditch in front of our building. The slabs over the drains had been removed for cleaning, making our building look like an island," said Anita Zeba Bakhtiar, a resident of Dhanmondi 15.

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"After dialysis, my mother was feeling ill and I was struggling to bring her into our building. Then I had to yell at the workers to move one slab back to its place so that my mother could be hoisted up to our house. But the contractor working here seemed the least bothered by the inconvenience caused to the residents," she added.

Mohammad Dulal Sheikh, a worker, said that workers usually needed a maximum of 3-4 days to complete work in front of a gate (of a residential building), during which time residents could not use their vehicles.

Another resident, Mamun Mahmud, said: "It's small work, but I do not understand why they are taking so much time to complete it.”

"We are struggling to use vehicles but people are suffering the most because they cannot use the footpath. That is why they walk on the main road. Besides, it has become a trend in our country to do construction work in the rainy season," he also said.

Mithun Chandra Shil, the executive engineer of zone 1 of Dhanmondi, said: "We have been working in the whole Dhanmondi area for the last few months. Currently, most of the gates are at 45-degree angles, which is risky for all. We will reconstruct things so that disabled people can around move easily."

After being transferred here on August 5, he has received only one complaint. "The rest of the residents are happy with our work," he said.