Local villagers joined together and repaired a dilapidated road on Saturday which was left neglected for years by the civil administration in Harirampur village of Kirtipur union in Naogaon Sadar upazila.
Locals say by repairing the much-needed one-kilometre road, they have solved their commuting hassle significantly.
The road has been the only mean of internal communication in Harirampur village. Locals must use it to transport food grains in and out of the village.
However, half of it is dangerously damaged as it collapsed into an adjacent pond due to lack of a defensive structure or enclosure (palisade) protecting the road.
Village residents have been urging local authorities including the union parishad (UP) chairman for years to pave the road for them but to no avail.
Finally, almost a hundred villagers jointly raised the required fund and began constructing the road 2-3 days ago.
Md Sultan, a resident of the village, said: “We have been asking the UP chairman for a long time to fix the much-needed road. Bricks were used to pave the road previously during the 2012-13 fiscal year, but it collapsed into a pond due to the lack of palisading. Commuters have been suffering ever since.”
Rowshon Ali, a convener of the voluntary road construction project, said they mainly used soil and sand for the road pavement and palisaded with bamboo fences on the side of the pond.
Contacted, Kirtipur Union Parishad Chairman Atoar Rahman said: “The union parishad currently does not have the required fund for the palisading. However, under the annual development program, a budget has been passed and the road can be further renovated in the next fiscal year.”
