Coming together for better days

In a display of affinity for their community, about 700 volunteers from different villages recently joined hands to build a new road to ease sufferings of inhabitants of eight villages in Netrakona's Kalmakanda upazila.

For decades, nearly 15,000 residents of eight villages -- Jigatala, Radhanagar, Goyatola, Shibpur, Pechhaia, Joynagar, Rajnagar and Manikpur -- have been facing enduring sufferings without a proper road through their villages, said many of them.

Once completed, the four and a half kilometre-long road, between Purbo Jigatala and Radhanagar villages, will provide an impetus to their communities by enabling easier communications with nearby villages and towns, they hoped.

The volunteers said inspired by Lengura Union Parishad Chairman Saidur Rahman Bhuiyan, around 500 men and 200 women from the area joined the initiative in the greater interest of all residents in the eight villages.

Hoping that the work will be completed in about a week's time, they also said they last year took part in building a three and a half-kilometre road, from Gouripur bridge to Taranagar, which was built in one week by 2,000 volunteers.

Chairman Saidur told this correspondent that people in the villages had been demanding for a road that would ease their sufferings, but the budget of the union parishad is not even adequate for repairing roads, let alone building new ones.

"I made appeals to the upazila parishad and local administration for building a new road on various occasions," but the departments concerned had remained unmoved by the demand of the people.

Miseries of the people in the area had been unbounded, especially during the monsoon, when they have to transport their agricultural produce or other goods on narrow earthen land dividers in crop fields, said Kajol Mia, a rice trader from Goyatola village.

Akbar Kabir, a ward member in Jigatala village, said it has been extremely difficult for critically ill patients to avail emergency medical care at hospitals and a large number of students to reach their schools every day. 

Farmer Nazim Uddin, from Radhanagar village, said he hopes that the new road will bring better days for people in all the villages..