Lack of road exacerbates suffering for residents of Faridpur village

The plight of the 50 families living at Sonadangi, a little village surrounded by low-lying areas in Ballabhdi union under Faridpur's Saltha upazila, is increasing day by day to a great extent as the village does not have an approach road from any side.

The lack of roads forces the villagers to travel to the district and upazila sadar towns by walking through agricultural lands. During monsoon, the village gets surrounded by floodwater and locals are left with no other option but to use boats to commute.

Students of local schools and colleges are suffering the most alongside those who have to leave the village daily for work.

Parents are also finding it hard to marry off their children as people from nearby villages or other areas tend to avoid sending proposals due to the absence of proper connectivity.

Schoolchildren are the worst sufferers as they have to wade through mud everyday to attend classes.

People of Sonadangi have said the construction of a 100-metre road, which would connect the village to a neighbouring one with connecting roads, will release them from their plights.

There are around 200 people from 50 families who currently live in the village.

During a recent visit, this correspondent saw the aftermath of the monsoon in the areas surrounding the village. The paths through the agricultural lands are muddy and villagers, including farmers carrying their produce and school-going children, are forced to wade through this mud.

"Although we have 100% electricity coverage, we don't have any approach road. There is no way to take anyone to the hospital in case of an emergency. We have to traverse through the mud every day to go to the bazaar or the upazila town," said villager Selima Begum.

"Besides, no one wants to marry off their children with ours due to the connectivity issue. We urge the authorities to build a road so and end our suffering," she said.

Khondokar Saifur Rahman Shahin, chairman of Ballabhdi Union Parishad, said, "Initiatives to build a road were taken several times in the past but they did not succeed due to an absence of government land.

Lack of a road at Sonadangi village in Faridpur has exacerbated the suffering of the villagers. Photo: TBS

"Besides, many landowners are also not eager to let go of some of their land for the road. We have informed the upazila nirbahi officer [UNO] about the issue," he said.

Contacted, Saltha UNO Md Anisur Rahman Bali said there is an absence of government land for road construction. "Initiatives to build a road can be taken if the locals allow to build it on portions of their lands."