Villagers suffer as road in awful state for years

People of eight villages in Rajapur upazila of the district are suffering immensely as the Pukurijana-Bashtola-Mankisundar connecting road remains in a dilapidated condition for years.

The five-kilometre road connecting eight villages with the upazila headquarters has become awfully dilapidated, causing an untold suffering to thousands of locals.

Constructed in 2002, the road has never been renovated in more than a decade, a number of locals claimed. As a result most part of the muddy road is full of potholes, they added.

Due to its dilapidated condition rickshaw passengers and bicycle riders often get stuck when vehicle wheels fall into the holes, madrasa superintendent Mahbubur Rahman said. 

A large number of culverts and bridges on the road can hardly be used by the vehicles as the approach road is low and becomes narrower, several Shitalpati (cold mat) makers at Napiterhat village said.

The farmer, day labourers and school going kids of Pukurijana, Mankisundar, Napiterhat, Mathbari, Daharshankar, Indrapasa  Bashtola and Badurtola villages are the worst sufferers.

Due to the potholes, critical patients, especially elderly people and expectant mothers, face serious trouble to go to the local health complex.

Kamal Sikdar, chairman of Mathbari Union Parishad, said he has already contacted the authorities concerned to reconstruct the road as soon as possible.

Upazila Engineer Lutfar Rahman of Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) said the reconstruction work will resume soon.