Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain yesterday claimed his ministry could not repair the roads and highways across the country for lack of money.
He made the comment after a parliamentary standing committee expressed frustration over the sorry state of roads in different parts of the country including in the capital.
The House committee on planning ministry at a meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban criticised Abul Hossain for "talking much and acting slow" in this regard. It also asked Abul to take immediate steps to fix the roads.
"His [minister's] mere speech will not improve the poor condition of the roads.
"People do not want to hear mere speech. They want safe roads for safe journey," said Oli Ahmad, chief of the parliamentary body.
Oli, also the president of Liberal Democratic Party, added that the dilapidated state of road is a major reason for accidents. According to him, the communications ministry is acting "slow" in ending people's sufferings.
The minister, however, blamed the poor allocation of money for the job. He also alleged that the immediate past BNP-Jamaat government did not repair any road during its 2001-2006 tenure.
"The ministry sought Tk 1,410 crore in the last two years for maintenance and repairing of roads but got only Tk 50 crore," Abul Hossain told this correspondent.
The country has a road network of about 21,000 km including 11,806 km of highways.
Ministry sources say frequent accidents on many of those roads claim several thousand lives every year.
Countless potholes coupled with stagnant rainwater on roads across the country are making the usually short journeys long-hour hazards. The potholes filled with rainwater have also become a death trap.
Home Minister Sahara Khatun on last Sunday blamed the poor state of a road in her constituency at city's Dakkhin Khan for an accident.
Earlier on February 3, a number of Awami League lawmakers in parliament voiced concern over the poor condition of roads and highways across the country and held responsible the communications minister for the delay in repairing those.
Tofail Ahmed, an AL veteran, on that day described the sorry state of the road in Brahmanbaria and shared the bitter experience of his visit to the area.
Deputy Speaker Col (retd) Shawkat Ali, who was presiding over the House sitting, also supported Tofail.
Source : The Daily Star
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