Despite repetitive promises and initiatives of local parliament members and union parishad chairmen, the 5.75 kilometre-long Pulerghat-Bottola road in Mymensingh’s Goforgaon upazila is yet to be paved.
It has been long 40 years since the road in Tangab union was first constructed. This dirt road is used by thousands of people of the eight villages of 2, 3 and 4 no ward of the union. Besides, there are six primary schools, two colleges, one vocational institution, one madrasa, an Ayurveda college and six kindergarten schools are situated along the road.
Moreover, the road also serves five mosques, a upazila health centre, union land office, union parishad office, five bazaars and a dozen of poultry farms.
During the rainy season the road literally turns into a mud bed making it impossible for commuters to use it. And in the dry seasons, it is full of potholes and dust.
Tangab UP members said the dirt road was first made by the then UP Chairman Mahmudul Hasan Khosru in 1976. Later he took the initiative to pave the road but it was never materialised as he died in 1988.
In 1984, BNP MP Fazlur Rahman Sultan at a rally at Chhapila Govt. Primary School promised to pave the road. In 1987, Jatiya Party MP Enamul Haq George voiced the same promise. When Awami League came to power in 1998, the then MP Altaf Hossain Golondaz blamed all the previous lawmakers for not living up to the promises and assured that the road would be paved soon.
In 2009, Awami League MP candidate Captain (retd) Gias Uddin Ahmad, in another rally at the same school, said he would not only pave but also upgrade the road if he was elected. Before the election in 2013 he reiterated the same promise.
Though Gias Uddin Ahmad did not fulfil the promise, during a speech in the parliament in 2013 he said the Pulerghat-Bottola bazar road was already paved. This false statement enraged the locals.
UP Member Ekhlas Uddin said the MP did not even mend the potholes of the road let alone pave and upgrade it.
Ramija Khatun, a union ward member from reserved seat, said the current MP Fahmi Golondaz made the same promise at an event in 2014.
However, despite assurances from lawmakers of the all the parties, the road has not seen any upgrade.
Badol Mia, a trader of Chhapila village, said the road was a major thoroughfare for transporting good to the nearby upazilas and districts.
Tangab UP Chairman Mofazzel Hossain Shagor said it was vital that the road was paved but it was not possible for him to do so.
Manoj Kumar Chowdhury, deputy-assistant of Goforgaon Local Government Engineering Department, said despite several requests and proposals to the senior authorities, there was no fund allocation to upgrade the road for some unknown reasons.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Siddarth Shankar said they would again urge the authorities and take initiative to pave the road after discussing it with the local MP.
When contacted Mymensingh-10 Goforgaon MP Fahmi Golondaz Babel said: “I would pave the road from the yearly allocation of Tk20 crore reserved for the lawmakers. People will no longer suffer.”
