The link road from Rangamati to Chittagong that gave away during the recent series of landslides in Satchhari area has been partly repaired and will be opened today.
Bangladesh Army worked for a stretch of 72 hours and managed to create a temporary solution, said Satchhari camp army spokesperson Lt Col Mashfiqul Alam.
For now, light vehicles can ply the road, about 10-12 feet wide. However, piles of landmass are still lying about a crater that was created during the landslide a few days ago.
While talking to The Daily Star, Lt Col Mashfiqul Alam suggested a 150 feet long bailey bridge or moving the road into the mountain as permanent solution to the road communication problem.
Currently, some loose soil is resting on the walls of the mountain that the road is adjacent to. It poses a risk of sliding off and blocking the road.
However, Lt Col Mashfiqul Alam says that the hill is rock solid and does not pose any danger of breaking off and causing a further catastrophe.
During the landslide, landmass slid off this hill and buried five Bangladesh Army men, including two officers, who were working on a rescue operation on the road below.
Roads and Highways division had said it would take at least a month to restore this road. The road linking Rangamati to Khagrachhari would take even longer – about six months.
For the moment, transportation of goods and supplies are being done through the Kaptai channel, where the shipments have been made absolutely free of cost.
In the sidelines, district authorities have started hill visiting and preparing a list of casualties and damages incurred in the landslides that claimed the lives of at least 115 people in Rangamati.
Source: The Daily Star
