The Chattogram–Cox’s Bazar highway has been termed a “death corridor” after 155 accidents claimed 150 lives and left 351 people injured in just 11 months.
Locals blame the narrow road, dangerous bends, reckless speeding, slippery salt-affected stretches, illegal vehicles and excessive traffic for the alarming rise in fatalities.
In protest, a three-hour blockade was enforced on the highway on Sunday demanding that it be expanded to six lanes.
From 10am, members of the Chattogram–Cox’s Bazar Road Development Movement blocked both ends of the Matamuhuri Bridge in Chakaria using ropes, while banners and festoons covered the bridge.
Students marched across the highway chanting slogans. All vehicles except ambulances were stopped.
Police and the upazila administration arrived to negotiate with protesters and requested that the blockade be lifted to ease public suffering. After receiving assurances of progress within seven days, protesters suspended the blockade at 1pm.
The movement’s chief coordinator, Ibrahim Faruk Siddique, said repeated accidents and rising deaths had made the demand for a six-lane upgrade urgent.
“We held human chains and various programmes earlier, but nothing has changed. That’s why we were forced to block the road,” he said, warning that further programmes would follow if promises were not kept.
The blockade caused long tailbacks on both sides of the highway, leaving passengers, including tourists, stranded. Many walked several kilometres to reach transport. Despite the inconvenience, most travellers supported the demand for road expansion.
Rafik Ahmad, a resident of Khurushkul, said, “We hear about two to three accidents almost every day. There’s no guarantee we’ll return home safely. The demand is justified.”
Eidgaon resident Yasin Arafat said no other highway in the country had as many three-wheelers. “They’re behind most accidents. The administration cannot remove them. Who do we blame?”
Locals from Chakaria pointed to narrow lanes, repeated bends, salt-laden trucks leaking water and unfit vehicles as major hazards.
Bus driver Rahim Uddin said the road cannot handle the visitor load to the tourist hub of Cox’s Bazar. “The road is too small for so many vehicles. Three-wheelers only make it worse.”
BRTA officials believe only a four- or six-lane upgrade can reduce accidents. Md Kamruzzaman, assistant director at the Cox’s Bazar BRTA office, said heavy tourist traffic makes expansion essential.
Rokon Uddin Khaled Chowdhury, executive engineer at the Cox’s Bazar Roads and Highways Department, said the feasibility study for upgrading the highway to six lanes has been completed, and they are now awaiting the final report before starting the next phase.
