Raiganj: The much-awaited construction of a 1.5 Km bituminous road from Annasol to Jamonia — the vital link between Surun-1 and Surun-2 Gram Panchayats under Itahar police station in North Dinajpur district — has formally commenced. The foundation stone was laid on Sunday evening by Musaraf Hossain, MLA Itahar. The project had been a long-standing demand of local residents, who, for years had to use a mud track, which, became nearly unusable during the monsoon.
Funded with Rs 52 lakhs from the State Panchayat & Rural development department, the blacktopping work is expected to be completed within the next four months. Hossain said the decision was taken after several requests from villagers to convert the worn-out mud path into a bituminous road to improve connectivity and daily mobility for commuters.
Asgar Ali, local resident of Surun welcomed the project, noting that more than 20,000 people from around fifteen villages including Annasol, Abinagar, Algam, Bagbari, Ludra, Haripur and Jamunia — will benefit once the road is complete. Residents expressed gratitude to the MLA and the state government for approving the long-pending development work, which they said would boost access to markets, schools and health facilities in the region.