Zakir Azad, Cumilla

Some roads are damaged by floods. Somewhere, the bricks, potholes, and asphalt of the roads have turned into small ponds due to heavy rain. Most of the roads have collapsed and turned into skeletons.

Accidents often occur in the potholes of these roads during the rain. The picture is the same everywhere from Cumilla city to various upazila headquarters and remote areas. Public suffering has become extreme while traveling on these damaged roads.

According to the statistics of the affected roads, the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) has about 1500 kilometers of damaged roads and the Roads and Highways (SOH) Department has about 100 kilometers. But the concerned people have said that not even a single cent of the money has been allocated for the repair of these roads yet. They say that this time, 1,525 kilometers of LGED roads and more than 100 kilometers of Roads and Highways Department roads have been damaged in 17 upazilas of Cumilla due to the severe floods and heavy rains. After the flood waters receded, the scars on the roads are emerging.

The unpaved roads and paved roads of rural towns have been extensively damaged. In the flood-affected villages of Burichang, including Burburia, Nanuar Bazar, Berajal, Bharasar, Ichhapura, Kalikapur, Bhabanipur, Mahishmara and nearby villages, the roads have been broken and become impassable. In some places, huge holes have been created on the roads. Billal Hossain, chairman of Sholanal Union of Burichang, said that most of the roads in the area have been destroyed due to the breach of the Gomti River embankment in the Burburia area of this union on August 12.

The people are suffering because these roads are not repaired. The same picture has been seen on the rural roads of Chauddagram upazila of the district. Some roads in this upazila have been extensively damaged by the floods. The condition of the Nangalkot-Bangda-Baghmara, Bangda-Dhalua roads is terrible. The condition of almost every road in Laksam, Manoharganj and Nangalkot, including Manoharganj-Shanti Bazar, Chitoshi-Hasnabad, Tughuria-Uttar Hawla, is poor. It can be seen from the ground that most of the 12-kilometer road of the Cumilla Bakhrabad-Kotbari road has become unfit for vehicle movement due to lack of repairs.

Vehicles of more than fifty government and private organizations including Cumilla University, BGB, Medical College and Hospital, Cadet College, Ansar Academy, Cantonment, EPZ, Adarsh Sadar Upazila, Highway Police, PBI, CID, ACC, Polytechnic Institute, Bakhrabad Gas Office are plying on this road every day, suffering. Apart from this, people have been suffering on the Kandirpar-Dharmapur road, Police Line-Race Course, Sadar Hospital-Chawkbazar and Adalat roads in the city for a long time. Debidwar Upazila Engineer Sabuj Chandra Sarkar said that about 80 kilometers of roads in this upazila have been damaged, including Charbakar-Bhaisharkot, Yusufpur-New Market, Khalilpur-Nurpur road, Kamarchar-Joypur, Sultanpur-Saichapara, Ghoshghar-Wahedpur and Rasulpur-Buripar.

LGED's Cumilla Executive Engineer Mohammad Sayeduzzaman Sadek said that the maximum 1,525 kilometers of roads out of 1,104 LGED roads in the district have been damaged. An allocation of Tk 706 crore has been sought for this. But recently, only Tk 55 crore has been allocated.

The allocation for roads damaged by floods and rains in 17 upazilas of the district will allow for an average of Tk 3 crore to be done in each upazila – which is much less than the requirement.

Executive Engineer of Soj Comilla Suniti Chakma said that about 100 kilometers of highways and roads of Soj in the district have been damaged by the floods. Tk 3 crore has been allocated for short-term repairs.