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People of 3 B’baria villages suffer for want of a bridge

Sheikh Md Shahidul ISLAM, Brahmanbaria
People of three villages in Shahjadapur union under Sarail upazila of the district are badly suffering due to lack of a bridge on Shahjadapur Canal and awful condition of a two-kilometre road.
The villages --Shahajadapur, Niamatpur and Dhauria under Shahjadapur are well-known for agriculture products, especially rice and fish, but they have remained very backward due to lack of communication facilities, locals said.
A seven-kilometre road to link DhakaSylhet Highway as well as district and upazila headquarters has remained virtually useless for the three villages due to lack of a bridge over Shahjadapur canal. Besides, about two kilometres of the road near Shahjadapur village, which was totally washed away by several floods between 1988 and 2004, is yet to be repaired.
In the rainy season, the villages become virtually isolated.
Due to the situation, thousands of farmers of the three villages face trouble and count extra cost to take their agricultural products and necessary things to and from the market.
In absence of electric-
ity, local farmers use around 1,000 diesel-run shallow and deep tubewells to irrigate their paddy fields. Due to lack of a bridge they are to pay a high carrying cost for fuel, said farmer Farid Mia of Shahjadapur village.
Md Taslim Mia, secretary of Shahjadapur Jubo Kalyan Samity, has said that there are five primary schools, one high school, one big market, one government-run health centre here. But the high officials in charge of monitoring hardly visit them due to the bad condition of the road. And so, people concerned often become reluctant to do their duty.
Criminals are becoming carefree as law enforcers
find it hard to get there in time due to bad condition of the road, locals said.
Md Sirajul Islam, former chairman of Shahjadapur union, said he submitted applications to the then upazila nirbahi officers (UNO) of Sarail to take steps for constructing a bridge over Shahjadapur canal but to no effect.
During this correspondent's visit to the villages, locals said successive lawmakers from BNP, Islami Okya Jote and Awa mi League failed to fulfill their pre-poll pledge to construct the bridge and supply electricity in the area.
When contacted, Sarail UNO Abu Sha favat Muhammad Shahedul Islam said, "A big project
to construct the bridge over Shahjadapur canal and reconstruct a flood protection road up to Shahjadapur village has already been passed in the Executive Committee of National Economic Council. I hope the project work will start soon on completion of all the procedures.”