Demanding the development of six kilometres of unpaved road in Tangail's Sakhipur upazila, local youths and farmers demonstrated by planting paddy right on the road, to draw the attention of the authorities.
After planting the paddy saplings on the Madarichala-Chhotopathar Road and the Gazaria-Joybangla Bazar Road-- both stretches of about 3-kilometres-- on Friday, the demonstrators made posts about it on Facebook. The posts soon went viral.
Shakil Ahmed, one of the protesters and an undergraduate law student from Pathar village, said: "I have to wade through 3 kilometres of muddy road when I need to go to the market for groceries.
"Locals have around 300 motorcycles in our village, but those can't be driven on the roads because of the muddy conditions during monsoon. So we have planted paddy saplings on the unpaved roads to draw the attention of the authorities."
Golam Maola, member of ward no 5 of Gajaria Union Parishad, said flash floods don't usually occur in their union as it's on relatively higher ground.
However, the roads remain muddy for around six months a year and vehicles are unable to move through it, added Golam.
Abdul Latif, who has a pharmacy in Patharpur Bazar, said: "Everyday I have to come to my shop through the muddy road barefoot with great difficulty. How long do I have to do this?"
SM Hasan Ibn Mizan, engineer at the upazila office of the Local Government Engineering Department, said: “Within two years there will not be a single unpaved road in Sakhipur upazila. Development of the roads is on the local parliament member's checklist."
