The four major roads in Khulna Division are in a dire state for long, making travel extremely difficult. Asphalt has worn away along most of the stretches, leaving large potholes and uneven surfaces. Even light rainfall exacerbates the difficulty of navigation and once the water dries, mud, dust, and loose soil further hinder travel. Vehicles are frequently damaged and traffic congestion adversely disrupts trade and business in Jashore’s industrial town of Nowapara, the port town of Benapol, and Satkhira’s land port Bhomra.
The owner of these highways is Roads and Highways Department of the government. Its officials blamed poor and continuous overloading of the transports, especially trucks, for this dilapidation. But, people resides in the concerned areas, went on poor-quality of construction works and misappropriation of funds over the last fifteen years.
Jashore-Khulna Highway: A Key Southwestern Route
The Jashore-Khulna highway stretches 60.3 kilometers, with 33.5 kilometers running from Jashore to Rajghat in Abhaynagar upazila. This is one of the busiest and most important roads in the southwest, directly connecting the country’s largest land port at Benapol, river ports, the industrial town of Nowapara, Mongla port in Bagerhat and Satkhira’s land port Bhomra.
The government launched the expansion and reconstruction of the road under a project in 2017, with construction starting in May 2018. The 19-kilometer Padmabila to Chengutia section was awarded to Toma Construction, while the remaining stretch went to Mahbub Brothers. The combined cost of the two packages was Tk. 321 crore with scheduled for completion in June 2020. The project was delayed due to COVID-19 and bad weather, pushing the deadline to December 2020. Even this extension proved insufficient, and the completion date was further postponed to June 2022, increasing the total cost to Tk. 348 crore.
The road was finally handed over to the Roads and Highways Department on the year. But sections of the road began deteriorating within a month. Within a year, 15 kilometers of the road from Rupdia to Nowapara became almost impassable. Government urgently initiated to r crore enovation work worth Tk. 172 crore. This work is still ongoing, being carried out by the same contractors, Mahbub Brothers and Tama Construction.
Jashore-Jhinaidah Highway: The Only Route to Rajshahi and Northern Bangladesh
The distance from Chanchra in Jashore to the Jhinaidah bus terminal is 47.48 kilometers. The Jashore section up to Kaliganj in Jhinaidah has turned into a damaged, hole-ridden stretch, while most of the Jhinaidah section’s 27 kilometers have lost asphalt, creating large potholes.
Sources say the six-lane project on this highway, planned in 2021, was supposed to finish by December 2023. Due to delays, the deadline was first extended to June 2026. In June of this year, the Roads and Highways Department proposed another six-month extension to the Planning Commission. Land acquisition costs have tripled to Tk. 265 crore, causing further slowdowns in construction.
Poor Conditions on Jashore-Narail and Jashore-Satkhira Highways
Jashore-Narail Highway: Out of 34 kilometers, sections from Hamidpur to Baulia, Rostompur to Charabhita, and Dholga to Tularampur are nearly impassable. Small vehicles often overturn.
Jashore-Satkhira Highway: The 7-kilometer stretch from Navaran to Bogaachra is in a fragile state. Potholes are being filled with bricks, and some areas are under brick paving.
People f different sections dependent on the roads are sufferings with the sufferings of the construction. The business people are worst victims of the difficulties.
Ahmed Raju, manager of Nowapara Group, said that Nowapara, being an industrial town and river port, handles about 70% of the country’s imported fertilizers. Due to poor roads, a single truck may take 2–3 days to pass through, severely affecting fertilizer distribution and other port-based businesses.
Truck driver hafizur Rahman Bachchu said that traveling is difficult. Many vehicles’ axles break and get stuck. A trip can take two to three days in traffic jams.
Alamgir Hossain Bhuiya, driver of Ghorai Transport on the Khulna-Kushtia route, added, “It should take 3–3.5 hours from Khulna to Kushtia via Jashore, but now it takes 6–7 hours and the cost is not covered.”
Executive Engineer Golam Kibria of the Roads and Highways Department in Jashore narrated that 18–20 kilometers of RCC paving work on the Jashore-Khulna highway is underway.
About 5 kilometers have been completed, 2.3 kilometers are in progress, and 4 more kilometers have been submitted to the ministry. He expects the first 4 kilometers to be completed by October.
Work is also ongoing on the 8-lane Jashore-Jhinaidah highway and the 6-lane Jashore-Narail highway. Once these projects are finished, the poor condition of Jashore’s four main highways is expected to improve significantly.
Aman/