Almost the entire space on both sides of the 1km road from Rupatoli to Sagordi Bridge in Barisal city has been grabbed, causing serious obstructions to vehicular and pedestrian movement.

Local residents said mishaps had become a regular phenomenon because people were forced to walk on the road, which often remained thick with traffic.

At least 150 makeshift and permanent shops were set up beside the road used by all kinds of heavy and light vehicles.

As a result, the only 16 feet wide road, which is a part of Barisal-Khulna highway, often becomes choked with traffic. People use the road also to travel to five districts -- Pirojpur, Jhalakathi, Patuakhali, Bhola, and Barguna -- because there is no alternative.

According to shopkeeper Shah Alam, mobile shop owner Md Mezbah, and rickshaw-puller Abdul Hadi of Rupatoli-Sagordi area, around two to three major or minor accidents occur on the road on a daily basis.

“Two passengers were injured after a truck crashed into my auto-rickshaw one month ago,” said driver Rubel.

Moreover, it takes a lot of time for vehicles to pass through the busy road. “Sometimes we need 30 to 40 minutes,” said Jamal Hossen, a bus driver.

Trucker Lokman added, “I drive carefully on the road amid fear of accidents.”

“We have to spend 40 to 50 minutes on the road,” said Md Ohedul Islam, a teacher of Barisal University, who commutes daily by bus to the campus located near the road.

Critical patients are the worst victims as they are taken in ambulances to Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital, located by the road.

Mohammad Saleh, deputy commissioner (traffic) of Barisal Metropolitan Police, said they had to deploy additional traffic police there, adding that sometimes he himself visited the spot to ease the situation.

Roads and Highways Department (RHD) owns the road and the free space, around five to 10 feet wide, on its two sides.

Khaled Shaheed, executive engineer of RHD, Barisal, said, “To recover the spaces, we often conduct drives through mobile courts, but to no avail; the grabbers always returned."

RHD has proposed to widen the road, he added.