Mahendranagar road still in sorry state

Road communication between the district and other parts of the country is still disrupted due to the awful condition of Mahendranagar-Barbari road in Sadar upazila since November 7.

Many potholes have developed on the the 5-km-long road that connects parts of the district with the district town. Of the two other connecting roads, Barabari-Kulaghat is also in bad condition and Mahendranagar-Mostafi road is closed for repair work, transport workers said.

Mobarok Ali, 45, a truck driver from Bogra, said his truck got damaged yesterday due to the potholes. "If I had known about the vulnerable condition of the road in Lalmonirhat I would not have come here," he said.

Bus driver Ibrahim Miah, 48, said they stopped driving buses on Lalmonirhat-Rangpur, Kurigram and other routes due to the terrible state of the roads. "We have been facing trouble while going from Lalmonirhat to other parts of the country due to vulnerable roads for the last 10 months,"  he said.

Truck driver Romesh Chandra Barman, 45, of the town, said the damaged road not only causes suffering to the people, but also causes loss to transport workers.

Truck owner Shah Alam, 45, said his transport business is being hampered due to the unusable road.

Mansur Ali, 52, said they have been suffering as it is very risky travelling on Mahendranagar-Barabari road by  bus.

Executive Engineer Sajedur Rahman said over-loaded trucks and 10-wheel trucks are responsible for the vulnerable condition of the road. "We repair the roads, but they get damaged again as over-loaded vehicles move on them," he said.