Highways are not parking-lots!

What are the police doing?

A photograph published by this newspaper yesterday of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway is extremely revealing of the general state of our highways. The photograph shows hundreds of private trucks left parked on the highway, reducing the Dhaka-Chittagong highway to nearly a single lane. What then is the point of extending highways if they are to be reduced to one lane at the end of the day because of parked vehicles? And why are the authorities so shy to take any action against these vehicles and their owners?

Only a few days ago, this newspaper had revealed the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway to have been in a similar state. If vehicles are going to occupy our highways and the authorities are going to be least bothered about it, why not simply build parking lots along the highways instead of extending them and wasting taxpayers' money like this?

What is most ironic about the photograph in question is that it shows vehicles occupying a part of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway near the Jatrabari Police Station. What we would like to know is how are the police, who are stationed so close to the scene, unaware of what is going on? And if they are indeed aware, why can't they take action to have them removed?

The costs, in terms of long tailbacks, etc. that are being incurred because of these parked vehicles and the apathy of the authorities that is allowing this are immeasurable. We call on the government to take action against this practice and to stop the wastage of taxpayers' money by extending highways only to have them reduced to single lanes because of parked vehicles.

• Courtesy: The Daily Star /Editorial/ Jul 25, 2018