The 12* km long Laksam–Monohorganj regional road in Cumilla has not been completed even after 54 years of development efforts.
Despite massive allocations by development partners such as the World Bank, LGED, and ADB, a grand festival of plundering and corruption by the local administration and contractors continues.
At various times, the local administration appears helpless against the muscle power of contractors. The road was severely damaged in the recent flood on the 24th. Currently, the road is in an indescribable state of suffering for commuters. While the Laksam portion is somewhat better, the Monohorganj side is full of potholes. Despite several crores of taka allocated last fiscal year in December–January for the Monohorganj section, the work has now come to a halt. On this matter, the district and upazila administration seem to be silent spectators.
Multiple local sources report that there's widespread gossip and concern among the public regarding the allocation of funds and the quality of work on the road. Over the past fiscal years, due to massive funding allocations, work was initiated on 6 km and 400 meters of road from Laksam to Ashirpar Bazar. However, due to the irresponsibility of local contractors, irregularities, and lack of supervision from the local administration, the road remains in a state of mismanagement.
Hundreds of trees of various kinds, including many palm trees, have been cut down unnecessarily on both sides of the road in the name of development. Moreover, the strong old soil on both sides of the road has been removed and replaced with sand to widen the road, which is against regulations. In essence, the so-called development of this road has become a festival of irregularities and corruption. When complaints were made about the use of substandard materials in past years, a local journalist was physically assaulted and harassed by the contractor's hired goons.
The source further stated that even after the establishment of the newly formed Monohorganj Upazila with 11 unions, several government initiatives over the last 54 years to speed up the road's development have mysteriously come to a halt midway. In 1967–68, 3 km of brick soling work from Laksam to Mohammadpur was initiated. During the Ershad regime, former Upazila Chairman late Mokhsed Ali completed 2 km of road paving from Monohorganj Bazar to Goaliyaara in 1984–85 and then stopped. In 1992, when former MP ATM Alamgir came to power, the development of the road was halted mysteriously before even 50% of the work was completed. At that time, rampant corruption occurred in the name of constructing 16 bridges and culverts.
Besides , suspicious dealings took place over palisading, retaining walls, and other construction works. From 2008 to 2024, during the rule of the Awami League government, local MP Tajul Islam started work several times with huge budget allocations. However, the use of low-quality materials like bricks and stones has raised concerns among the locals regarding the repair work. Currently, due to the contractor’s irresponsibility, irregularities, and corruption, the development work has slowed down, causing increased suffering for the public.
There's no administrative supervision of the development work. It seems like everyone is busy filling their own pockets. Moreover, discussions are rising among the locals regarding the development work of all the roads in the southern part of the district, and the future of these developed roads seems risky. The public’s anger is growing over the local administration's responsibility and role.
Despite repeated attempts, the views of officials from the district and upazila local government offices, LGED, ADB, and other development partner agencies could not be obtained.
However, admitting some irregularities and delays in the development of the road, several sources from the local administration confirmed that if substandard materials were used or found on-site, and if trees on both sides were cut or old strong soil was removed and replaced with new sand, then legal action would be taken against the contractor upon investigation.
