Due to the absence of truck terminals in Ishwardi, truck owners and workers involved in transport communication have been suffering for long. Despite huge demand from the administration and the municipality for the construction of the truck terminal for a long time, no initiatives have yet been taken.
As a result, chaos is being created whenever the truck is parked alongside the road. At the same time, haphazard car parking is causing major traffic problems in the city.
Many times truck drivers and workers are being harassed by police due to illegal truck parking on the street.
It has been reported from Pabna District Truck Owners Association, Ishwardi Upazila Branch, that there are more than 500 trucks, including drum -tracks, mini-trucks, cavard vans, tractors and small trucks in the city. These trucks transport sand from the river, transport materials from Rupur nuclear power project, EPZ, materials of railway renovation and construction, including materials from other various public and private development works.
Apart from this, the trucks are used to transport goods daily to various cities. After the work, there is no fixed places to park these trucks at night. As a result, truck owners, drivers and laborers parked the loaded trucks on various roads, along the station road of Ishwardi city including Railway warehouse shade square and Alhajmore road. These trucks cause severe traffic congestion to travel and during unloading goods. Specially, illegal placing of trucks at the railway warehouse sidewalks causes problem of unloading and transporting goods from railway freight trains. The truck drivers of the area said they have to park the trucks anywhere as there is no terminal. And this cause stealing of battery and other equipments.
Due to the lack of terminal, workers do not get a place to rest. Ishwardi Traffic Surgeon Zahurul Islam said as the trucks are being halted at railway warehouse and on Alhajmore road, it creates huge traffic congestion.
President of Ishwardi of Pabna District Truck Owners Association, Abu Bashar Siddiqui said more than five hundred truck owners and workers have been suffering for a long as there is no terminal. As there is no terminal, he has to keep the truck in front of his house daily for security reasons.
Pabna District Truck Lorry, Covered Van Ishwardi Branch President Bhasha Pramanik said the municipality and administration of Ishwardi have been asked several times for the establishment of truck terminal. They are just reassuring us but till date there is no progress.
Ishwardi Municipality Secretary Zahurul Haque said a project has undertaken to construct a permanent truck terminal and land was purchased at Harukhali in the city. But the construction of the terminal could not be started due to lack of funds for the project. It is expected that work will be started in the next financial year, subject to the allocation of the fund.
