Broken footbridge escalators in Dhaka add to pedestrian hassle, risk

Authorities need to bring effective changes in the design of the footbridges so people become interested in using them, says Prof Adil Muhammed Khan

Shopon, a Jhenaidah resident, was panting as he dragged a heavy bag up the unmoving escalator at the pedestrian overbridge near the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

“What’s the point of having an escalator if we have to climb it?” Shopon said, irritated.

Thousands of pedestrians use the footbridge to cross the busy road adjacent to the airport. However, many have to suffer as the escalator for the overbridge has been broken for a long time.

Some pedestrians use the broken escalator as stairs, while others take the risk of jaywalking.

“Many people travel to and from the airport every day carrying luggage. They climb up and down on this broken escalator. Some of them curse as they do so,” said Golam Ghous Russel, a local vendor of tea and betel leaf.

Abdullah Al Mamun from Khulna said:

“I’m travelling to Saudi Arabia. I don’t have enough money to reserve a car to take to the airport. Climbing this broken escalator while carrying my bags, I feel like dying.”

“It was broken two years ago when I went on another trip. It’s still out of order. In our country, everything develops, but the simplest things are never mended.”

The broken escalator has been frustrating pedestrians near the airport for a long time. There are two other footbridges similar to this in Dhaka North. One is situated near Banani Sainik Club while the other is in front of Jamuna Future Park.

The footbridge at the Sainik Club is scheduled to remain closed from 1pm to 2:30pm and after 10pm. However, it is often closed at other hours. Pedestrians say it is out of order most of the time and is occasionally repaired.

Imraul Rafat works in the private sector in Banani.

“This escalator is closed quite often, even outside the scheduled time,” he said. “We see it has broken, and then -- after one or two days – it’s working again. It’s very difficult to tell when it will be working,” he said.

Bidisha Ahmed has been using the Banani footbridge regularly for the last two years for her commute to work. She has often found the escalator closed.

“Sometimes I find it closed for two to three days.”

“It’s very irritating to use the footbridge when the escalator doesn’t work. Sometimes I find a group of people jaywalking and I join them. I don’t climb the footbridge in that case.”

Sanaul Haque, a pedestrian, said the escalator at the footbridge in front of Jamuna Future Park is also broken most of the time. He says it is a massive inconvenience.

“Sometimes I see repair work going on during office hours. Sometimes, the entrance leading to the escalator is locked. In that case, people crowd the stairs,” said Sanaul, who works for a private company in Bashundhara.

The footbridge with an escalator near the Sainik Club was opened in 2014. The escalator was installed under the Clean Air and Sustainable Environment (CASE) project. Later, it was handed over to the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC).

Two years later, in 2016, then-mayor Anisul Haque constructed a footbridge with an escalator at the bus stop near the airport. The one adjacent to Jamuna Future Park was opened in 2021.

All three footbridges with escalators are under the jurisdiction of the DNCC.

“The footbridge escalator near Jamuna Future Park had its belt stolen, but we fixed it a few days ago,” said Md Moinuddin, chief engineer at DNCC.

“I’m not sure what the issue with the escalator near the airport is. I can look into it in three to four days and then let you know,” he said.

The escalators were installed to reduce the hassle for pedestrians, but they are now out of order due to poor maintenance and management, said Adil Muhammed Khan, executive director of the Institute of Planning Development (IPD).

“The footbridges were installed with good intentions, but it is evident from the frequent breakdowns and repair work that our maintenance and supervision is very weak. The piloting shows that this initiative has failed,” said Adil, a professor at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Jahangirnagar University.

The authorities should first investigate why proper repair work was not done after the escalators were installed, Adil said. And since the initiative has ‘failed,’ the authorities should find a way to motivate people to use footbridges without escalators, he added.

“They need to bring effective changes in the design of the footbridges so people become interested in using them.”

[Writing in English by Sabrina Karim Murshed]