Bamboo bridge over muddy road!

Lack of repair and maintenance of an earthen road for almost three decades in Patuakhali’s Kalapara upazila made communication trouble for about 50,000 people of five adjacent villages.

While no vehicles can ply the four-kilometre long road from Musulliabad to Misreepara in Kuakata area, in some places it has become unfit even for pedestrians.

Villagers had to set up bamboo bridges to cross portions of the road that had eroded into the adjacent croplands during the rainy season in the last two years.

Students of a primary school, a high school, a college and a madrasa use the road to reach their education institutes.

A fifth grader of Musulliabad Government Primary School Jannati Akhter said, “We cannot go to school during the rainy season as the road becomes very muddy.

While visiting the area around mid-September, this correspondent saw some male students of the Musulliabad Islamia Fazil Madrasa planting rice saplings on the road near Panjupara.

Md Saidur Rahman, a teacher of the madrasa, explained that the students are planting saplings protesting the condition of the road.

He claimed that during the rainy season student’s attendance rate becomes low because many do not want to come to class crossing the decrepit road.

“Authorities concerned should take step to build a paved road here considering interest of the locals and students,” he added.

Md Salauddin, a student of Alim (intermediate) class of the madrasa said, “Our madrasa dress becomes dirty when we cross the road and often our books get damaged.”

The road was never repaired since Latachaplee Union Parishad built it in 1987 to ease communication for Dobasipara, Azimpur, Dokkhin Musulliabad, Musulliabad and Misreepara village with Kuakata sea beach, said Habibur Rahman, a resident of Panjupara village.

“Tourist also can’t use the road to go to Misreepara to visit the Buddhist temple with the biggest Buddhist statue in the area,” he claimed.

“They have to use an alternative route and cross another five kilometres to go see the statute,” he said.

Chairman for Latachaplee Union Parishad Md Ansar Uddin Mollah said he informed the concerned authorities about the bad condition of the road in a number of union parishad meetings and requested for a pucca road considering interest of locals.

Contacted, Abdul Mannan, Kalapara upazila engineer of Local Government Engineering Department, said, they have taken a project to build a paved road with the allocation of the current fiscal year and sent the proposal to higher authority seeking approval. However, they have not received any fund yet.

“After getting approval and necessary fund we will start its work,” he hoped.