Lalmonirhat-Burimari highway reduced to a pothole menace

The 120-kilometre journey from Lalmonirhat to Burimari along a national highway usually takes about 2.5 hours by bus. But at the moment one would be lucky to arrive in less than 4 hours due to the uncountable number of potholes.

"I'm not interested in driving that route," says resident bus driver Shariful Islam. "Potholes are everywhere and it's risky. Even with slight rainfall the highway's condition deteriorates further."

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Truck driver Ram Kanta Roy in Lalmonirhat town agrees. "I always try to avoid transporting goods from Burimari land port because the condition of the road is truly awful," he says, "It's very dangerous with the possibility of serious accidents high. Besides, the extra time it takes leads to higher fuel costs for us."

Ashraf Ali, a microbus driver from Patgram town, says the state of the road has challenged his ability to transport patients to Rangpur Medical College Hospital in good time. "We have to drive slowly and the extra time expended is undoubtedly hazardous for emergency patients."

Lal Miah, a truck owner from Lalmonirhat town meanwhile, notes that parts of his truck break very often when using that highway. "The road has been in a bad state for over a year," he says, "But still no step has been taken to fix it permanently."

In Aditmari town local resident Azahar Ali states that town-dwellers are unable to use either motorcycles or bicycles on the road easily due to the potholes.

An executive engineer at the Lalmonirhat office of the roads and highways department, Al-Amin Khan says the five kilometre stretch from Mahedranagar to Mostofi would soon be reconstructed. His colleague, Hamidul Haque, states meanwhile, that temporary repair work is under way as part of the department's routine road maintenance programme. But he did not reply when asked about permanent repairs.

Besides the highway, other roads in the district including Lalmonirhat to Kulaghat, Lalmonirhat to Mogholhat and Durakati to Chaparhat are also in a sorry state.