Perched atop a 15.5-kilometre elevated road with the city sprawling below, police officers spend their shifts under makeshift tarpaulin tents supported by iron poles, with wooden benches as their only furniture. They work through intense heat and occasional heavy rain.
This is the reality of duty on the Chattogram Elevated Expressway -- one of the city's most expensive infrastructure projects. Yet officers assigned there have no permanent checkpoints, washrooms or even a reliable source of drinking water.
The expressway, connecting Lalkhan Bazar and Patenga, opened to toll-paying traffic 17 months ago. Since then, a series of fatal accidents has prompted the Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) to deploy teams at multiple points along the route.
Police personnel now maintain round-the-clock presence at at least three locations -- near Nimtala-Bishwa Road, Fakirhat Point and Tigerpass -- working on rotating eight-hour shifts. None of the posts has permanent infrastructure.
The project was approved in August 2017 as a three-year initiative. However, it was not completed on schedule and has since undergone three deadline extensions.
The elevated expressway was first inaugurated in November 2023. Trial vehicle movement on the main section began in the last week of August 2024, before it finally opened to toll-paying traffic in January 2025.
"The road surface becomes extremely hot. There is no toilet facility here," said Sergeant Tanvir, who was on duty at the Nimtala-Bishwa Road point when this correspondent visited last week.
"We have to walk nearly a kilometre down from the expressway just to use a washroom. During storms and rain, we have to continue working while getting soaked."
Another sergeant from the Bandar division, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the challenges of night duty.
"During extreme weather, there is no way for us to leave the post. There are no toilet facilities. Even drinking water has to be brought from a distant location."
Image
Photo: Star
The contrast is striking.
The expressway was built at a revised cost of Tk 4,314.85 crore, up from the original estimate of Tk 3,250 crore. The project has undergone multiple deadline extensions, with completion now scheduled for later this month.
Ten connecting ramps also remain closed to the public.
Yet the officers tasked with ensuring the safety of expressway users continue to work from makeshift camps beneath sheets of tarpaulin.
During a visit to the expressway, this correspondent found six police personnel from the traffic and local police units on duty under a temporary tent on the Lalkhan Bazar-bound lane near the Nimtala-Bishwa Road section in front of Bandar Police Station.
Another six officers were stationed under a tent on the Patenga-bound lane at Fakirhat Point, while five more were on duty near Tigerpass.
The camps consisted of thick tarpaulin sheets stretched over iron poles, with wooden benches underneath. Officers appeared visibly uncomfortable in the intense heat.
Kabir Ahmed, deputy commissioner of police of CMP's Bandar Zone, acknowledged the situation when contacted.
"We have temporarily launched operations at two points in our zone," he said, adding that no formal letter had yet been sent to the Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) regarding the infrastructure gaps.
"We will look into the matter. After discussing it with senior officers, necessary measures will be taken."
