The road known as "Adam Gazir Keya Rasta" in South Koikhali, Ward 1 of Koikhali union in Shyamnagar upazila, Satkhira, has been in a poor state for a long time. Even light rain turns parts of it to mud, causing hardship for local residents.

To demand its repair, local residents and young people staged an unusual protest. On Sunday, 16 August, they planted rice seedlings in the muddy stretch of the road in front of South Koikhali Baitul Mamur Jame Mosque.

Locals complain that because the road has not been repaired for so long, conditions become dire in the rainy season. Any rain turns it to mud, making it extremely difficult for pedestrians, students, farmers, women and the elderly to get about, and hampering vehicles in emergencies.

Local resident Md Asaduzzaman said: "We have been suffering for a long time because the road has not been repaired. Even a little rain turns the whole road to mud. Children, the elderly and ordinary pedestrians find it very hard to walk. Despite drawing the attention of the authorities for a long time, there has been no lasting solution. So we were forced to plant rice seedlings in the mud as a symbolic protest. We demand the road be repaired quickly so people can move normally."

Koikhali Union Parishad chairman Abdur Rahim said he was aware of the road's poor condition and the hardship people face in the mud during rain. The union parishad will try to help as far as it can, he said, and will talk to the authorities concerned and take the necessary steps to repair the road permanently. "We are trying to take quick action to ease people's suffering," he said.

The young people and residents said they had long demanded repairs, but with no effective action they wanted to bring the matter to the authorities' attention through a symbolic protest. The road is now in such a state, they said, that planting rice seedlings in its muddy stretch shows its condition plainly.

Residents hope that after their unusual protest the authorities will take the matter seriously and move quickly to end the long-standing hardship.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.