3-Kilometre Road Crumbles in Sherpur, Leaving Thousands in Distress

A three kilometre road in Sreebardi Upazila of Sherpur has been in bad shape for a long time. It runs from Balijuri High School near the border to the Rangajan Freedom Fighters’ Memorial. Even in this dry season, the road has potholes and ditches in many places, and it is hard to use. A little rain also floods several parts of the road.

Thousands of people who use the road face great hardship. Vehicles cannot move well, so law enforcers also struggle to carry out their patrols. Smugglers take this chance and use the area as a safe route for drugs and Indian smuggled goods.

Locals said many big potholes have formed along the road from Balijuri High School to Rangajan. Rain water fills them, and the road turns muddy and slippery. In some places the mud reaches the knee. Students, farmers, patients, van drivers and other residents find it very hard to move.

Minar Hossain, a local van driver, said he runs his family on his van income. Sand trucks have used the road for a long time, and they have made many small and big holes. Those holes still hold knee deep mud. He must drive on this road to earn money, so his van often breaks down and he loses money.

Asmat Ali, a farmer from Chhoto Balijuri village, said the broken and unpaved road stops farmers from taking crops to the market on time. In the monsoon, vehicles can hardly move, and farmers also spend extra time and money. This hurts the income of local farmers and residents.

Aziron Begum, a local resident, said women and old people suffer a lot when rain turns the road to mud. It is also hard to take sick patients and pregnant women to hospital in an emergency.

Motaleb, a shopkeeper from Rangajan village, said he pays extra money to bring goods for his shop. This cuts his profit by a good amount. The road has seen no lasting repair for a long time. Officials sometimes put soil on it for a short fix, but rain washes it away fast. He said the road needs a permanent repair and paving.

Salman Farsi, a school student, said he must use this road to go to school every day. The road fills with mud when it rains. His clothes get dirty, and he fears he may fall and get hurt on the slippery road.

Locals said they have asked for paving of the road for a long time, but no one has taken any real step so far. As a result, travel for farming, education and health care in the area is badly hit.

Ms. Monisha Ahmed, Upazila Executive Officer of Sreebardi, told Inqilab that the upazila administration knows about the problem of the Balijuri to Rangajan road. A work of the Water Development Board is now going on in that area. She said the administration will take steps to repair the road once that work ends.