Villagers demand restart of road construction in Itahar

Raiganj: Demanding the restart of road construction, around 12,000 residents of some villages, including Marnai, Bistupur and Bochkapara in North Dinajpur district threatened to boycott polls this Parliamentary elections demanding the resumption of construction work of an unfinished road. Construction of a 5-km-long concrete road from Marnai Ghat to Bochkapara in Itahar had started around two months ago under Pathasree Prokalpa of the state government. A few days ago, the work suddenly ceased for some unknown reason.

Jahirul Alam, a resident of Marnai said: “The road construction stopped around a fortnight ago. There are some ditches on the road. Even bicycles and rickshaws are unable to ply. In case of emergencies, ambulances are also not entering the villages owing to the road. If the construction does not start, all the residents have decided to boycott polls.”

Mujibur Rahaman, Sahakari Sabhapati of Itahar Panchayat Samity assured: “I do not know why the construction work has stopped. We will meet the officials of the district administration for the restart of the road construction immediately.”