Chattogram: Leaders of the Chattogram-Cox's Bazar Mohasarak Unnyan Andolan (CCMUA) have demanded that the government take immediate action to expand the Chattogram-Cox's Bazar highway into a six-lane road.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, CCMUA leaders described the highway as a 'death trap' during a press conference held at the Chattogram Press Club. They urged the government to commence work on the six-lane expansion as previously committed. In a written statement, CCMUA organizer Tamim Mirza emphasized the importance of the road, which connects the Chattogram port city with the major tourist destination of Cox's Bazar. He highlighted the frequent accidents on the narrow two-lane road, which claims numerous lives each year.
The statement detailed that the 148-kilometer road is only 18 to 22 feet wide in most areas, with hazardous intersections that lead to daily fatal accidents. Citing statistics from the Bangladesh Jatri Kallyan Samity study, the CCMUA reported that 37 people were killed and over 100 injured in 86 road accidents in just a two-kilometer stretch of the Zangalia section in Chunati, Lohagara upazila, over the past year.
Overall, at least 200 fatalities and more than 200 injuries were reported from 300 road mishaps on the highway in the last year. Two advisers from the Interim government visited accident-prone sections at Chunati after a series of accidents resulted in 15 deaths over three days last year. They pledged to upgrade the highway to four or six lanes; however, the CCMUA claims that no visible progress has been made since.
CCMUA organizers Ibrahim Faruk, Mohammad Masum, Md Minhaj, Md Faruk, and Md Najat also addressed the media during the press conference.