Today, 22 October, is National Safe Road Day. In Cox’s Bazar, safe travel remains an unfulfilled promise, from the highway to the roads leading to the beach. Tourists face delays before their holidays begin; residents endure the ordeal throughout the year.
Although the Dhaka–Chattogram highway has been widened to four lanes, the narrow Chattogram–Cox’s Bazar section remains a source of congestion and danger. Buses, trucks and slower vehicles share two lanes through busy settlements. Roadside markets, encroachment and uncontrolled stopping compound the pressure. Reckless overtaking puts passengers and other road users at risk.
The bottlenecks are already known. JICA’s project assessment identified Patiya, Dohazari, Keranihat, Lohagara and Chakaria as five major congestion points. Its January 2023 plan proposed bypasses and a flyover with a combined length of approximately 24.4 kilometres. These works need firm deadlines and public progress reports. Delays in the broader highway expansion cannot justify postponing urgent improvements at these locations. The wider plan must also be finalised, with a clear implementation timetable.
Entering the town brings another ordeal. Unregulated Tomtoms and easy-bikes, indiscriminate passenger boarding, illegal parking and occupied footpaths intensify congestion. Around Kolatoli Crossing, Sugandha Point and Burmese Market, even walking becomes difficult. This persistent disorder exposes failures of coordination and enforcement. The local administration and traffic police cannot evade responsibility for conditions they have allowed to continue.
Reliable evidence is essential. Police, hospitals and road agencies must establish a district accident database recording crash locations, times, casualties, vehicle types and contributing factors. Regular publication would help identify dangerous bends, junctions and pedestrian crossings. Comparing records over time would also reveal whether interventions are working.
Major construction takes time. Restoring order need not wait. Transparent registration and route management for three-wheelers, designated boarding points, clear footpaths and effective parking controls can reduce immediate disruption. Speed enforcement, driver training, safer crossings and affordable public transport are equally necessary.
Responsibilities, funding sources and budgets must be explicit. Approved project designs, expenditure and progress should be publicly accessible, with independent oversight of quality and irregularities. Without named responsibilities and deadlines, agencies will continue passing blame.
Tourism sustains livelihoods and contributes to the national economy. Unreliable access weakens its appeal; unsafe roads endanger families. Assurances alone are not enough. The authorities must deliver safe, comfortable travel from the highway to the beach. People should judge their performance through shorter delays, safer crossings and fewer crashes, injuries and deaths.
By Salam Abu
Editor
