NCP’s Hasnat Abdullah protests road neglect in Cumilla by releasing fish in potholes
If the authorities do not repair the road, they might as well use it for fish farming, says Hasnat Abdullah.
National Citizen Party (NCP) leader Hasnat Abdullah held a unique protest in Cumilla's Debidwar Upazila this morning (10 October) by releasing fish into large potholes on a long-neglected regional road, drawing attention to its deplorable condition and years of official inaction.
The Debidwar-Chandina regional connecting road in Cumilla has been in a dilapidated state for a long time, with potholes so large that parts of the road now resemble small waterbodies.
In protest of the authorities' inaction, Hasnat, the NCP's chief organiser for the southern region, released fish into the water-filled potholes on the road.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
During the symbolic protest, in the Kachisar area of the Upazila, during his public outreach activities, Hasnat said, "People travel through this road every day. A young man recently died here."
If the authorities do not repair the road, they might as well use it for fish farming – at least people would get to eat some fish, he added.
"The condition of Debidwar's roads is so bad that one could literally farm fish here. Release local fish if you can; I have released some already. Maybe something good will come of it."
According to locals, the 14.5-km-long Debidwar–Chandina road is not just a local connector between two upazilas but also serves as a vital link between the Dhaka–Chattogram and Cumilla–Sylhet highways.
However, they say the road has not been repaired or upgraded for years, leaving it riddled with large potholes and almost unusable.
Passengers suffer daily, and even light rain causes the holes to fill with water, often leading to accidents.
Residents of the area joined Hasnat Abdullah during the protest.
