50,000 villagers suffer for unpaved road at Baraigram

BARAIGRAM, NATORE, Aug 9: Residents of eight villages in Natore's Baraigram and neighbouring Chatmohar Upazila of Pabna have long been enduring severe hardship due to a one-kilometre stretch of unpaved road on the Manair-Nazirpur route.

The road serves as the main transport link for nearly 50,000 people living in the area and is widely used to reach Jonail Bazar, where locals buy and sell agricultural produce and other goods.

Students also rely on the route to travel to Manair Government Primary School, Nazirpur Primary School, Jonail High School, Jonail St Louis High School, Jonail College and Baraigram College.

Although both ends of the road have been paved, the section between Manair Government Primary School and the house of Nazirul Islam in Nazirpur has remained unpaved for years, causing severe inconvenience, particularly during the monsoon.

A visit to the area on Tuesday found the road covered with mud and stagnant water, with numerous potholes making it difficult for vehicles to pass.

Students and other pedestrians were seen carrying their shoes and sandals while walking through the muddy stretch.

On Tuesday, the weekly Jonail market day, residents transporting goods to the market were seen pushing loaded auto-rickshaws and locally made motorised vehicles through the mud.
Auto-rickshaw driver Abdul Baset said the road becomes virtually impassable during the rainy season.

"It is almost impossible to drive here because of the mud. When we refuse to take passengers, it often leads to arguments," he said.

Local resident Abdul Hannan said only the middle one-kilometre section of the road remains unpaved despite the rest of the route being developed.

"People suffer every rainy season. We urge the local lawmaker and the authorities concerned to pave this road as soon as possible," he said.

Upazila Engineer Abdus Samad said the matter would be discussed with the higher authorities and necessary steps would be taken to pave the road to ensure smoother transportation for local residents.