Road communication has been suffering in Atrai Upazila of Naogaon due to the lack of necessary repair works following the flood last year that destroyed several embankments and roads in the region.
Everyday commuters blame the authority concerned for neglecting their responsibilities in promptly launching repair projects soon after the floodwater receded from the region, reports our Naogaon correspondent.
According to local sources, a portion of the Madhugurnai-Panchpur Charmatha road collapsed near an area called Pachpur Palpara and inundated the whole area during the flood in 2020.
Ever since then, the road became unserviceable and the communication snapped between Malipukur, Pachpur, and Madhugurnai among other villages.
Pachpur Bazar is an important area in the region and contains important infrastructures including a market, an Upazila health complex, a high school, a government primary school, and an old Kali temple. In addition, there are several small and medium-sized factories including a rice mill, a sawmill, and a bread-making factory.
As a result, hundreds of people need to travel to Pachpur regularly but are faced with commute struggles due to the dilapidated road.
Safia Khatun, from Malipukur village, said: “Recently, I had to go to the rice mill in Pachpur to have my grains ground into flour. As rickshaws or rickshaw-vans don’t ply on the road, I had to carry the sack of flour on my head the whole way.”
Runa Khatun, a resident of the Shikarpur village said it is very difficult to get to the health complex in Pachpur during an emergency as ambulances cannot use this road.
Atrai High School Headmaster Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal said: “A portion of the road was damaged by the flood in 2017. The damaged portion was filled with sand temporarily. The same portion of the road was again damaged by the flood in 2020. Even after the floodwater receded completely, the roads and highways department took no steps to repair the much important road, resulting in serious commute sufferings.”
Ahsan Habib, sub-divisional engineer, Naogaon Roads, and Highway Department, said: “A number of roads were damaged in last year’s flood. A contract, including repair works of all damaged roads, will be issued soon and we hope the construction works can begin by June this year.”