About one lakh people living in Chanda Beel, second largest water body of the country, of the district have been experiencing untold suffering because of not having necessary number of bridge, culvert and road to maintain communication with the mainland.
During the summer season when the Beel losses navigability, they have to wade through mud to go the nearby upazila or district towns for various purpose while boat and trawlers are lone ways of communication during the rainy season.
On the other hand, the residents of the 90-hector Beel, stretched in Sadar, Kashiani and Muksudpur upazilas, do not get due price in locally produced products and fish owing to not having proper communication facility.
Besides, the locals are being deprived of medical services and education due to the problem.
Sources at Gopalganj Roads and Highways Department (RHD) said a road stretching from Satpar to Ramdia area via the Beel was constructed several years ago to ensure smooth movement of the residents while many development projects were in the pipeline.
In this regard, Praful Biswas, housewife Anjana Mandal, and learner Chandrima Bala, of Singa village under Kashiani upazila, said the road has been out of usage owing to developing sporadic potholes.
Unavailability of approach roads, the bridges already erected there have remained out of service as well, resulting the locals have been facing severe problem in movement and bringing their products to nearby markets, they opined.
At Ujani village of Muksudpur upazila, a farmer named Shaymal Sarker and fisherman Susanto Sarker said they are compelled to sell their agri-products and fish at comparatively cheap price because of the tattered communication system and many times their products get rotten on the way to markets due to delay in transport.
The problem exacerbates particularly during the winter season and their children experience serious suffering to go to their schools, they continued.
Gopalganj RHD Executive Engineer Somiran Rai acknowledged the suffering of the Beel people, saying the government has earlier given necessary allocation to build bridges, culverts and roads there to improve the communication, works of which was going on in full swing.
Since most of the works have been stopped for the time being in the rainy season, they were hopeful of improving the situation by two years, the engineer also stated.
When contacted, DC Md Khalilur Rahman echoed the Somiran’s voice, telling that the local RHD, WDB and LGED in a union have already started their works to pull out the Beel people from the suffering.
