Narail villagers struggle as 60% of rural roads remain unpaved

Thousands of people in Narail district continue to face severe hardship during the monsoon as nearly 60% of the district’s rural roads remain unpaved, leaving many villages virtually cut off after mild rainfall.
Even moderate rain turns earthen roads into muddy tracks, disrupting daily movement, hampering the transportation of agricultural produce and making it difficult to take critically ill patients to hospitals, according to local residents.
One of the worst-affected roads connects Durbajuri village with Sitarampur in Mulia union under Sadar upazila. "Our village has been visited by MPs several times. They inspected the road and assured us it would be paved, but nothing has happened," said Gopal Biswas, a resident of Durbajuri village.
He said transporting one maund of paddy to the market costs Tk40 to Tk50 by van, while many drivers refuse to use the road during the rainy season. "Families even hesitate to arrange marriages in our village because of the poor road condition," he added.
The road also serves residents of Hijoldanga, Ichrabaha and several neighbouring villages. During the monsoon, it becomes impassable, leaving farmers unable to transport crops, delaying emergency medical services and forcing students to walk through mud to attend schools and colleges.
Samir Goldar, head teacher of Krishna Lata Secondary School, said, "Students suffer the most. If someone falls seriously ill at night, it becomes extremely difficult to find a vehicle to take the patient to hospital." The problem extends across all three upazilas of the district.
According to the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), Narail has 1,447 rural roads with a combined length of 3,225 kilometres, of which nearly 60% remain unpaved.
Of the district's total road network, 738 kilometres out of 1,181 kilometres in Narail Sadar, 789 kilometres out of 1,199 kilometres in Lohagara and 433 kilometres out of 745 kilometres in Kalia are earthen roads.
LGED officials said proposals have been submitted to include 1,100 unpaved roads, covering 946 kilometres, in the official gazette for future development. Another 214 roads with a total length of 284 kilometres are also being processed for enlistment.
Sardar Ikramul Kabir, executive engineer of the LGED Roads Division, said several road improvement projects are being implemented in the current fiscal year, while others are at the tender stage. He said the proposed Narail District Infrastructure Development Project and Greater Jashore District Infrastructure Development Project are awaiting approval. "If these projects are approved, we expect the proportion of paved and unpaved roads in the district to become nearly equal in the next fiscal year," he said.