Chittagong villagers suffer for 30 years as 2.4km road unfit for movement

Thousands of people living in Muradpur union in Sitakunda upazila of Chittagong district have been experiencing untold suffering for the last 30 years as the 2.4km road in the village became unfit for movement.

Although structural developments have been seen in some areas of the upazila, no improvements have been brought to the rural roads. This has become a curse for the residents of the village.

The 2.4km road in the union lies neglected for 30 years and the authorities concerned have not taken any initiative to repair it.

Despite several hundred people from three to four villages using the roads daily, the road remains unattended due to a lack of guardianship.

During monsoon, people’s sufferings mount following worsened condition of the road, as it is the only means of communication for them.

The road becomes marshy and immersed in mud during the rainy season and people have to take off their shoes and wade through knee-deep mud.

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Every monsoon people have to face tremendous suffering and the communication between Muradpur union and the other villages remains suspended due to the bad condition of the road.

Local people claimed that many young men and women remained unmarried due to the poor communication system, creating a headache for many parents.

During a recent visit to the Hasnabad Dhalipara village under Muradpur union, UNB learned that people have suffered a lot while taking patients to nearby hospitals for treatment.

In light rain the road becomes muddy and in the rainy season, it is too difficult for people to cross the road on foot.

No vehicles can move on the road during the monsoon, intensifying the woes of the locals.

Besides, the residents of the village have also suffered a lot in the dry season due to dust.

Patients need to be carried to hospitals as even ambulances cannot move on the roads. 

Besides, the local people also have to cross the road in order to bury dead bodies in a graveyard, causing untold suffering.

The residents of Hasnabad, East Muradpur, and West Muradpur villages have been asking for a long time to repair the road but the authorities concerned did not pay any heed to their demand.

The farmers also suffered a great deal while taking their agricultural products to the local bazaars. Due to the poor condition of the road, many farmers lost their willingness to produce crops.

Rabeya Begum, a resident of Hasnabad village said: “My daughter has grown old and in the past one year, many proposals have come for her marriage but no one agreed to marry my girl due to the dilapidated road condition.”                           

Abdullah Al Noman, a resident of Hasnabad village said: “The road condition is too bad to move and sometimes an emergency patient dies on the road before being taken to the hospitals due to the poor road conditions. Besides, the people of other villages are reluctant to get married in the union due to the dilapidated condition of the road.”

Sitakunda Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Shahadat Hossain assured of taking steps to mitigate the woes of people after talking to the authorities concerned.

Chairman of Muradpur union Zahed Hossain Nizami Babu said: “No repair work has been done in the 30 years and the local union people have dumped some mud on the road to make it fit for people but it remains futile.”

He also said a project has been sent to the Local Government and Rural Development Ministry and the construction work on the road will resume after the rainy season.