Md. Omar Faruk runs a small tea shop in the Family Bazar area of Madani Avenue, Dhaka. He sells packaged biscuits, soft drinks, and tea. He used to sell fresh bread, buns, and cakes, too. But dust from the road makes everything dirty, so now he only sells packaged items.

Speaking with him on a quiet afternoon, Omar Faruk said a government agency has dug up the road for over a year. Dust from the sand-covered road blows into his shop, ruining everything.

As a result, he can no longer sell unpackaged food, and even tea sales have dropped. Customers rarely come because of the dust. The road stretching from New Bazar’s 100-foot road in Madani Avenue toward the Balu River is under construction.

Dhaka WASA is doing development work here under the “Dhaka Environmentally Sustainable Water Supply” project. Due to the digging, one side of the road is almost completely closed.

On Tuesday afternoon, it was seen on the ground that WASA had dug up about two kilometers of the road starting from Vatara Police Station to Bashundhara Gate No. 2. In some places, the road was completely cut off; in others, the road was unusable. As a result, vehicles and pedestrians were using the side roads. Some parts are completely cut off; others are barely usable.

Talking to locals, it is known that WASA has been digging up the road since August last year. As a result, this road is practically closed. Shopkeepers in the Family Bazar area said they were severely affected during the last Eid. Buyers did not enter the nearby market to shop much.

Eid al-Adha is ahead. If the road is not fixed by then, there will be no buyers this time either.

Md. Khaled Hossain has been driving rickshaws on Madani Avenue for nearly 20 years. He said, “They’ve left the road dug up for a long time. This road has been dug many times before. They dig it up again every few months and just leave it like that. It is difficult to walk on the roads due to heavy dust. We do not want much from the government. We must ensure that cars will drive on the roads peacefully and that the common people will walk without problems.”

Meanwhile, Dhaka WASA is working on a major water supply project. The main water treatment plant is at Gandharbpur, on the west bank of the Meghna River, in Bishnandi Point of Araihazar, Narayanganj.

This plant is part of the “Dhaka Environmentally Sustainable Water Supply” project. According to WASA officials, the main infrastructure, such as the intake point and transmission lines, is almost complete. They’re digging deep on Madani Avenue’s 100-foot road to lay two six-foot-wide pipes.

The project is scheduled to be completed by June.

Yesterday (April 23), a WASA inspection team visited the site and announced they aim to finish the work by April 25 and hand it over to RAJUK (the capital development authority).

However, RAJUK officials say their road widening and construction work—from Madani Avenue to the Balu River (Major Road-5) and from Balu to the Shitalakkhya River—is moving slowly.

A RAJUK engineer, speaking anonymously, said, “WASA is supposed to finish by April 25. But we feel they’ll need more time. We can’t start our roadwork until their water pipelines are in place. We’ve completed everything else. Now, the only work left is from Family Bazar to Vatara Thana. WASA’s delays are holding us back.”

When asked about the issue, Md. Fazlur Rahman, WASA’s managing director, told Bonik Barta, “We understand the public is suffering because of the roadwork at Madani Avenue. We had a meeting about it just today (April 23). We’re supposed to finish by April 25, and we’re hopeful we can complete the work on time and hand it over to RAJUK.”