Impassable Purnapara Road woes for Chowgacha people

OUR CORRESPONDENT

BENAPOLE, July 23: The nearly 10-kilometre-long Purnapara Road in Jashore's Chowgacha upazila has become impassable due to years of neglect and for want of repair.

Of this, a 7-kilometre stretch is in extremely bad condition, with worn-out bitumen, broken pavement, and knee-deep potholes in several places-especially between Tengurpur and Komlapur intersection.

The road, which connects Jashore's Chowgacha upazila with Maheshpur upazila in Jhenaidah, is the only reliable route for residents of more than 80 villages including Khodhincha, Debloy, Sanchadanga, Komlapur, Shyamnagar, Chutarhuda, Jadavpur, Shahapur, Habashpur, Jagusa, Natima, Mandartala, Goyeshpur, and Samanta.

Hundreds of commuters rely on it every day for travelling, enduring immense hardship due to the road's appalling condition.

Purnapara Bazar, a commercial hub in the area, hosts weekly markets on Sundays and Wednesdays that attract traders from across the country.

It is home to mills, factories, NGOs, banks, educational institutions, a livestock market, and a vegetable wholesale centre. But the damaged road has seriously disrupted commerce, as traders often fail to reach the market on time, bringing business activities to a near halt. All types of vehicles-including buses, trucks, three-wheelers, vans, motorcycles, and bicycles-use the road daily. However, frequent accidents have turned it into a nightmare for both drivers and pedestrians.

The majority of locals depend on agriculture. Crops like wheat, maize, lentils, pointed gourd, brinjal, tomato, bottle gourd, pumpkin, paddy, jute, sugarcane, mustard, papaya, and green chili are produced in large quantities and supplied to markets across the country.

But the poor condition of the road has made transportation difficult, causing significant losses to farmers. Students too are suffering, with school attendance being hampered by the treacherous route. Nurun Nabi and SM Milon, two rice mill owners of Purnapara, said that the suffering peaks on market days. Rani Khatun, Ali Hossain of Andulia Dakhil Madrasa, and Moyna Khatun of Ramkrishnapur Secondary School warned that without immediate repair, commuting might soon become impossible.

Shariful Islam, an easy-bike driver, Karimun driver Hasanur Rahman, trucker Akbar Ali, and van-puller Alamin Hossain expressed anger, saying that they take life-threatening risks every day using this road. "A major accident could happen anytime," one of them said.

Schoolteacher Sohel Akhtar and commuter Masura Akhtar shared their daily ordeal: "We have to wade through knee-deep water, which is extremely painful."

Chowgacha Upazila Engineer Riasat Imtiaz acknowledged the situation, saying, "The Purnapara Road is currently in very poor condition. If funds are allocated in the upcoming budget, repair work will begin as soon as possible."

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