More than a decade ago, the five-kilometre Barshila–Nolbhanga–Khakchhara paved road was built in Bera upazila of Pabna to facilitate the transportation of crops grown on hundreds of bighas of farmland and improve connectivity among at least 10 villages.
The road was constructed at a cost of Tk1.20 crore.
However, far from carrying out repairs, the authorities have not even looked after it since its construction.
Although the road still exists in official records and local people’s memories, it has virtually disappeared due to a lack of maintenance and repairs.
Once used daily by hundreds of people and various types of vehicles, the road is now riddled with potholes and overgrown with bushes, making it completely impassable
As a result, much of the road has effectively vanished.
According to the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), construction of the Barshila–Nolbhanga–Khakchhara road was completed in 2013 at a cost of Tk1.20 crore.
The around five-kilometre road stretches from Barshila in Bera municipality through Nolbhanga in Chakla union to Khakchhara, passing through a wetland area.
Once opened, the road significantly improved connectivity between the upazila headquarters and at least 10 villages in Chakla and Kaitola unions, including Nolbhanga, Khakchhara, Chakla, Domdoma, Joynagar and Kaitola.
It quickly became one of the busiest roads in the upazila, serving farmers transporting agricultural produce, students travelling to school and other residents.
Several hundred vehicles used the road every day.
That movement has now come to a complete halt.
Locals alleged that the road was constructed too low and too narrow, without taking the surrounding wetland conditions into account.
Consequently, sections of the road began deteriorating in its very first year under pressure from rainwater and rising water levels in the wetlands. During the monsoon, several sections would become submerged.
Although the road remained usable for a few years, the absence of regular repairs and maintenance eventually rendered it completely unfit for traffic.
A recent visit to the area confirmed the residents’ complaints.
Large sections of the road have broken apart, leaving deep potholes.
Dense weeds and tall grass have grown across the road in several places.
Combined with bushes on both sides, the vegetation has completely obscured the road in many stretches.
It is now impossible to travel along it.
Hazrat Ali, a resident of Barshila village, said, “Look around this entire wetland area.
All you can see is farmland. The road is in such a terrible condition that I cannot describe the difficulties we face transporting jute and jute sticks from the fields.
They spent so much money building the road, but nobody bothered to look after it afterwards.”
Milon, who was fishing with a lift net in the wetland beside the road, said the area was known as Kajolkuro Beel.
“It looks more like a jungle than a road. It has now become a habitat for snakes and other reptiles,” he said.
Local van driver Hashem Ali said, “Of the five-kilometre road, not even half a kilometre is passable. Beyond that, you could say there is no road at all. Yesterday, a few van drivers from distant areas came this way without knowing its condition. After travelling a short distance, they found no road ahead and had to turn back. Yet vans and other vehicles once travelled along this road regularly.”
Another resident, Ramis Uddin, said the road had once allowed farmers to transport their produce from the fields to markets.
“Now there is not even a path to walk on. A bridge was also built, but it is even lower than the road. This road should be repaired as soon as possible,” he said.
Manik Hossain, headteacher of Khakchhara Adarsha High School, said many students from neighbouring villages had enrolled at the school after the road opened.
“Now many students from those villages can no longer use this route to reach the school,” he said.
According to locals and LGED officials, following longstanding demands, the department prepared a proposal in 2022 to reconstruct and upgrade the road at an estimated cost of nearly Tk10 crore.
Senior officials subsequently visited the area to assess the proposal.
However, the project was ultimately not approved because no funds were allocated.
Since then, no significant initiative has been undertaken to restore the road.
LGED Pabna Executive Engineer Monirul Islam said he had already inspected the road.
“The road has been included in a project titled ‘Development of Pabna’. It will be reconstructed as soon as funds are allocated,” he said.
