21 km dilapidated road

The 21-km-long Mymensingh-Phulbaria road has become dilapidated at several points due to lack of repair.

The only road for thousands of people to travel between Mymensingh town and Phulbaria has become a source of suffering for them as around five km of the road is in an awful state, locals said. The worst affected areas are Dapunia, Deukhola, Koshaibari, Koiyerchala and Bhalukjan Bazar.

Huge potholes have developed on the road, and it looks like a small canal after a light shower, locals said, adding that accidents occur frequently at the broken spots.

They said students are the biggest sufferers.

Farmers cannot easily transport their produce to local bazars through the road and are deprived of fair price, said Kabir Uddin Sarker, a local journalist. 

Repair work of the spots is carried out sometimes, but it does not help make the journey smoother, he said.

Thousands of people use the road every day, but the authorities concerned are not interested in mitigating their problems, said Phulbaria Municipality Mayor Golam Kibria.

Nazmul Haque Sarker, a businessman in Phulbaria municipality, said they have been suffering for long due to the pitiable state of the road. He informed the authorities concerned on several occasions, but the situation is the same as it was, he added.

Shahidul Islam of Bhalukjan Bazar area said they wanted development of road communication with the district headquarters, but it is still far away. 

Kayes Ahmed, an honours student at Phulbaria Degree College, said the perennial suffering has now gone beyond description. Hundreds of students have to use the road to reach their educational institutions in Phulbaria and Mymensingh town, and the awful state of the road has become a cause of waste in terms of both time and money, he said.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer Lira Tarafder said the matter has been raised at the monthly coordination meeting at district level, but it is yet to be solved.

Mymensingh Roads and Highways Department Executive Engineer Masud Khan said he visited the spots recently and repair work with bricks is going on as part of their routine maintenance work.

As waterlogging occurs at different points after rainfall, there is no scope to repair the road with bitumen, he said.

The whole road will be constructed with 'rigid pavement' system and Tk 23 crore has been allocated for the work, the engineer said.

A tender for the work will be floated soon and the work could start by September this year, he added.