Govt estimate flood damages 1600 km roads, bridges in Sylhet

Two rounds of flood have caused extensive damage to roads and bridges in Sylhet division, disrupting road communication and causing suffering to people.

Some areas in Sylhet division are still under floodwater. Vehicles are plying on these roads with risk as flooding has created potholes on almost every road, said locals.

According to a joint estimate by the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) and Sylhet City Corporation (SCC), a total of 1,600 kilometres of roads and have been damaged in this year's flooding in the Sylhet region, which is worth Tk 21 billion.

The two rounds of flooding battered the region in May and June. Almost all the roads of Sylhet were submerged which severed Sylhet's road link with the rest of the country. Although floodwater has receded from most of the areas, road communication is yet to return to its usual state.

According to the LGED, SCC and RHD, around 1600 km roads and 2.5km of bridges in the four districts of Sylhet division need repairing, which will cost approximately Tk 21 billion, reports UNB.

According to the SCC, 186.53km roads in Sylhet metropolitan area have been damaged. Besides, 96.72km of drains, one km of retaining wall, 60km of footpaths and 82km of water lines have been affected by floodwater.

"Tk 3.28 billion is needed to repair these. We've already requested the ministry concerned for allocation," said Nur Azizur Rahman, Chief Engineer of SCC.

Mostafizur Rahman, Executive Engineer of Sylhet RHD, said roads under RHD worth Tk 5.50 billion were destroyed by the flood.

"We've conducted departmental repairing works as a temporary solution. Permanent repairs won't be possible if we don't get the required funds," Mostafizur said.

Flooding has ruined rural roads built by LGED the most. The length of these roads is at least 1,200km and the amount of losses is around Tk 10 billion.

"We've been able to mitigate the losses to some extent by using sandbags during the flooding. We've kept the roads useable by using bricks and sandbags in places where holes have emerged," said Enamul Kabir, Executive Engineer of Sylhet LGED.