Northern region roads turn into death traps

Rezaul Karim Raju and Md. Haider Ali

The bad state of roads in the north, including Godagari in Rajshahi, must be repaired before the local government elections. Big holes have formed on regional and rural roads in the districts, upazilas, municipalities and union parishads of Rajshahi and the north. Rain water collects in these holes and often turns them into ponds. Regular repair and care have not been done for a long time, so the carpeting has come off and bricks and brick dust have come out.

Overweight trucks and vehicles that break the rules are quickly breaking down the weak and old roads. Aware people say the roads must be repaired before the local government elections. They also say party disputes, power circles and lobbying groups must be settled. They say BNP’s central policymakers will have to pay in full if these problems are not stopped. The problems are shortage of oil, gas and electricity, farmers’ fertiliser crisis, tender rigging, extortion, grabbing of land, khas ponds and sand ghats, food godowns, sub registry offices, land offices and drug syndicates.

The bad roads are raising travel costs and time. Vehicles move very slowly on the broken roads. Passengers spend much more time than planned and pay extra fares. The roads also hurt farming and business. Vegetables and farm goods may rot while moving from the north to other cities, which causes money loss for farmers. Auto rickshaws, vans and motorcycles often turn over in the potholes, causing small and big accidents.

Rajshahi 1 is known as a VIP seat of Rajshahi and is made up of Godagari and Tanore upazilas. Heavyweight candidates have run in this seat in the past. The late Barrister Mr. Aminul Haque won the seat and served as State Minister for Law, State Minister for Establishment, and lastly Minister for Post and Telecommunications. He came into the centre of talk for wide development in his area. He built roads, embankments, bridges and culverts, and put stone protection along the Padma river. He built new school, college and madrasa buildings. He also raised Godagari, Kankanhat, Tanore and Mundumala to municipalities. The soil of Godagari and Tanore is known as the base of Barrister Mr. Aminul Haque and the base of BNP.

Others who ran here include Major General (retd) Mr. Sharif Uddin, brother of the late former IGP Dr. Enamul Haque. He is a former military secretary to the Prime Minister and a member of BNP’s advisory council. Film actress Ms. Mahia Mahi and Jamaat’s Naib e Ameer Professor Mr. Mujibur Rahman also ran here. In this election, BNP candidate Major General Mr. Sharif Uddin lost to Jamaat’s Naib e Ameer by a small number of votes.

Since becoming MP, Professor Mr. Mujibur Rahman has held many programmes with party leaders and workers in his area. He holds meetings with the administration, teachers and businessmen. He goes from mosque to mosque, leads prayers and holds courtyard meetings with worshippers. He visits river erosion sites, neglected schools, roads, embankments and bridges, and promises to get repair work done.

The biggest project is the water treatment plant in Godagari, which is being built at a cost of Tk 4,062.22 crore. Professor Mr. Mujibur Rahman, MP of Rajshahi 1 and Jamaat’s Naib e Ameer, visited it in person at 11 am on a Friday a few months ago. He asked about the whole work of the project and talked with the chief officer in charge. He said clean water supply is a very important public service. He stressed more contact and teamwork to run the project better, so local people can easily get safe and clean water.

He also said that if they need anything, they can contact him, and his side is ready to give full help in providing honest, skilled and responsible staff. He hoped such development work would be finished well for the public good, to give easy access to safe and clean water. But locals feel they are not getting quick work like in the time of the late minister Barrister Mr. Aminul Haque. They want quick answers to local problems. The people of Godagari and Tanore want development like the late Mr. Aminul Haque gave. There are limits to the work of a minister and an MP, which people must understand for an opposition MP.

Anyway, ordinary people are closely going over many issues. These are Padma river erosion, damage to embankments, bad roads, shortage and high prices of fertiliser, electricity and fuel oil, sand lifting, extortion, tender rigging, khas ponds and infighting inside BNP. Aware people think all this will deeply affect the coming local government elections. They say BNP’s high command must take strict decisions while there is still time.

River erosion and bad inner roads

People of Godagari Municipality and Charashariadah Union are hit by erosion of the Padma and Mahananda rivers. They are not getting any help or support. It is learned that they have to take shelter in Barind land with their tin roofs, tin sheets, bamboo, posts, cows, beds, chairs and tables, goats, ducks and hens.

Inquiry found that the road from C&B to Achua Taltola in Ward 1 of the municipality is also in a sad state. Locals say the municipal authority is careless and unskilled. Sometimes, in the name of cleaning drains, it leaves rotten mud and garbage on the road. The bad smell makes it hard to walk on the road. The municipal authority does not spray any medicine for mosquitoes and flies. Dogs chase people day and night.

Early yesterday, Professor Mr. Mujibur Rahman, MP of Rajshahi 1 and Jamaat’s Naib e Ameer, visited river erosion sites and several roads. He went to Railway Bazar, Baruipara, and the area beside the house of late chairman Mr. Yahiya Mia. He promised effective steps to stop river erosion. People strongly demanded quick repair of the road, thinking of the old, pregnant women, patients and students. But nothing useful has been done. A little rain also makes the road in Ward 7 unfit for travel.

Mr. Nurujjaman, a local of Godagari, spoke in anger. He said the bad state of roads and public suffering cannot be told in full. He said the roads have been lying like this for the last 15 years, and no one looks after them. He said from Dyingpara, rickshaw pullers do not want to come even if offered Tk 40 to 50 instead of the Tk 10 fare, and people have to beg them. He said the road went bad after sand business and heavy vehicles began to move on it.

Many roads, including the Sarangpur graveyard road in Ward 8 of the municipality, have gone unrepaired for long and are now unfit for travel. The pitch and stone chips have come off and made countless holes. Even a little rain leaves mud and water on the road. People slip and fall, and small and big accidents often happen.

In Hajipara village of Rishikul Union 4 in the upazila, a little rain leaves knee deep water on the road. There is no drain beside the road, so water logging has formed on the 100 feet of road from Chobbishnagar to Marmoria. This has gone on since 2023, but no public representative or political leader has solved it. The field and road of Matikata Government Primary School are also under water, and teachers and students are in trouble. Many calls were made to the mobile phone of Union Chairman Mr. Sohel Rana on this matter, but he did not answer.

Meanwhile, a road in Tulshipur village of Gogram Union in the upazila is in such a bad state that for the last two months, no vehicle, and not even people on foot, can cross it. In protest, locals had to plant rice seedlings in the middle of the road. We tried to contact Acting Chairman Mr. Aslam Sarkar of that union, but could not get his words. We also tried many times to contact Mr. Sawar Jahan Mukul, who is engineer and secretary of Godagari Municipality, but he did not answer the phone. The suffering locals strongly demand that the local administration and the municipality visit the sites quickly and take urgent steps, to save people from this disaster and ensure safe travel in the rainy season.

Professor Mr. Mujibur Rahman, MP of Rajshahi 1 and Naib e Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat e Islami, spoke to Inqilab about repair of roads, Padma river erosion and embankments. He said a project of Tk 200 crore for five years has been proposed. He said work will be done equally in the 16 unions and 4 municipalities of his area from the MP’s allocated money, Inshallah. He said he has told the heads of the offices concerned and the officers in charge to build half a kilometre of road in every union and municipality.

He said he is in regular contact with heads of offices and with the ministers, state ministers, deputy ministers and secretaries concerned for development and repair work. He said they have given assurance. He said that in the area of Chapainawabganj Sadar MP Mr. Bulbul, 7 to 8 kilometres of embankment on the Padma bank is nearly finished. In his own Charashariadah Union and Godagari Municipality area, about 3 kilometres is nearly finished too. He said it will be done soon, Inshallah. He also said he advised building the embankment on one side without leaving any gap, so the gap does not fall to erosion and damage the built embankment.

We contacted Mr. Md. Abul Kalam Molla, Executive Engineer of LGED Rajshahi, but he did not answer the phone, so we could not get his words. Ms. Sanjida Afrin Jhinuk, Executive Engineer of the Roads and Highways Department in Rajshahi, told Inqilab on these roads that no one had informed her about this. She said she will look into it and arrange to repair the road.