Around 83 kilometres of highways and roads under the Roads and Highways Department have been damaged in tidal surge, flood due to heavy rain, caused by the cyclonic storm Remal.
According to the primary estimate of RHD, roads were damaged on 66 highways between May 26 and 29.
The length of the damaged national highways is 18km, the regional highways are 10.01 km, and the roads in districts are 54.57km.
Some parts of different roads, embankments, ferry approach roads, and ferry stations had been damaged, while at least one road in Moulvibazar was under water until May 29.
The road transport and bridges minister, Obaidul Quader, on Thursday, at a meeting, directed the RHD authorities to repair all roads damaged by the cyclone seven days before the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha.
Cyclonic storm Remal hit the Bangladesh and West Bengal coasts on May 26, killing at least 31 people in Bangladesh and leaving a trail of destruction in 19 coastal districts.聽
According to a report released by the disaster management and relief ministry on Wednesday, Remal impacted nearly 4.6 million people, dismantling completely over 40,000 houses and partially over 1.33 lakh more residences.
Millions of people were without electricity for days after the cyclone.
Authorities could not produce a complete picture of the destruction, saying that many of their local offices were still beyond communication.
RHD鈥檚 primary report on its network read that inclement weather damaged the roads under its Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira, Patuakhali, Barguna, Barishal, Pirojpur, Bhola, Faridpur, Sylhet, Sunamganj, and Moulvibazar divisions.
On May 29, the Juri-Phultala road in the Moulvibazar division was submerged under water.
The report also said that due to the storm, surfaces of different roads were damaged while numerous potholes were created, and at different points, ferry approach roads, especially the Rayenda ferry ghat under Bagerhat division and the Mehendiganj ferry ghat under Barishal division, were also damaged.
Officials of the Local Government Engineering Department said that they were yet to get collective data from the districts on the damaged roads.聽
The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority in its Thursday鈥檚 meeting made several decisions make the journeys of Eid home-goers safe and smooth.
Apart from asking to repair the damaged roads, road transport minister Quader asked the authorities concerned to stop maintenance work on roads seven days before the festival.聽
Officials feared that 217 cattle markets were likely to be established
beside the highways, which might disrupt traffic movement.聽
Decisions have been taken at the meeting to keep open the CNG filling stations for 24 hours seven days before Eid, on the Eid day, and five days after Eid, and to suspend the movement of trucks, covered vans, and lorries on the highways three days before Eid, on the Eid day, and three days after Eid.
