Sylhet-Tamabil-Jaflong road in a dilapiated condition

Agitated locals blocked the dilapidated Sylhet-Tamabil highway Tuesday morning demanding its repair.   State Minister for Ministry of Youth and Sports, Md Ahad Ali Sarkar’s transport was stuck in the demonstration. The locals continued with their protest until the two secretaries escorting the minister promised to take immediate action to repair the road.   The highway that links travellers to the prominent tourist attraction Jaflong, has been in a bad shape for last few months.    A number of heavy vehicles ply on the road on a regular basis, which has created huge potholes leaving it unsuitable for travelling. A few accidents have already taken place. The tourists’ suffering gets worse when travelling from Mamar Bazar to Bollaghat.   The locals have been pressing the issue for long time, but little impact seems to be made on the concerned authorities.    Jamilur Rashid, a college student of the area said: “This part of the road has been in a dilapidated condition for quite a long time. The authorities forget about their promises to repair it as soon as we withdraw our demonstration.”    When contacted, A H M Kamruzzaman, Upazila Engineer, LGED, Gowainghat, said: “The road is not under my authority. It falls under the Roads and Highways Department (RHD). High officials have been informed about the matter. I hope the repair work will be done soon”.   Gowainghat upazila chairman Abdul Hakim Chowdhury said: “The high officials have been contacted many times. I wonder why the repair work has not been started yet, in spite of the Secretary of Ministry of Communication’s visit to the area.”