CCC, CDA again on blame war as flyover develops crack

The Chattogram City Corporation and the Chattogram Development Authority once again indulged in a blame war as cracks developed on the MA Mannan Flyover at Bahaddarhat in the port city.

Over the years, the two agencies are blaming each other for the sufferings of the people of Chattogram and the top bosses of the two city agencies are publicly accusing each other.

After cracks appeared on the Bahaddarhat flyover on Monday night, the officials of the CCC and CDA are again trying to blame the other in the same manner.

Police immediately stopped traffic movement on the flyover on Monday night after tracing a crack on the top of a column on the ramp towards Kalurghat.

On Wednesday morning Chattogram Mayor Rezaul Karim along with a team of engineers visited the spot of the crack.   

“An accident can happen at any time. I am shocked to see the way the cracks are developed. As the CDA built the flyover, we will ask them to find out the cause of the crack,” Rezaul told reporters at the site. “We are taking initiatives to prevent any accident,” said Rezaul.

He said they have decided not to allow traffic on this flyover and the road beneath it.

“I can’t say what caused the crack, but I can say that there must be faults in construction works that led to the development of the cracks,” said the mayor who is also at loggerheads with the CDA over the construction of several mega projects in Chattogram.

The dispute between CCC and CDA over the construction of an elevated expressway between Chattogram airport to Lalkhan Bazar has become the talk of the town in recent days.

The CCC raised objections to various aspects of the project which the CDA finds unnecessary.

The CDA-constructed ramp of MA Mannan Flyover was launched in December 2017 and the responsibility of its maintenance was handed over to CCC in December 2019.

The 1.33km flyover from Chandgaon police station area to Bahaddarhat junction was constructed at a cost of Tk 145 crore and it was launched in October 2013. Later in 2017, a ramp was added from the flyover towards Kalurghat.

The flyover project director Mahfuzur Rahman, who is now in-charge of an executive engineer at the CDA, told The Bangladesh Post, “The ramp on the flyover was designed for light vehicles. There were height barriers and warning signs during its inauguration.”

When the ramp was handed over to the city corporation, the WASA was working on the road below and someone broke the height barrier paving the way for all kinds of heavy vehicles including billet loaded vehicles, covered vans to move over the narrow ramp, he added.

Indicating CCC, Mahfuzur said it is their responsibility as they are responsible for the maintenance of the flyover, he said adding that some people are in smear campaign over the development of cracks.

Mahfuzur refused to accept the CDA engineers’ claim that cracks are developed on the flyover. “It’s not correct to call it a crack. The filler concrete between the column and ramp span somehow got removed,” he said.

“We are now in Dhaka with the senior officers. Necessary steps will be taken once we return to Chattogram,” he told The Business Post.

CDA chairman Zahirul Alam Dovas was not available for comments.

A team from the CDA Engineering Department went to the scene and inspected the site of the crack on Tuesday afternoon. Experts of the elevated expressway’s consulting firms have inspected the cracks on Bahaddarhat flyover on Tuesday night.

Although the government agencies concerned did not take responsibility for the crack, the residents of the area are passing their time in panic. Businesses have been shut down under the ramp.

Rafiqul Islam, a resident of Chandgaon area, said the authorities concerned should repair the cracks immediately and make the area safe.