Bijoyanagar (Brahmanbaria) correspondent :Â
There are ponds along the road in different parts of the village, but there is no bank of the pond. Ponds are being made on the side of the road up to government places. The road is being used as the bank of the pond. Within a year, roads worth crores of rupees are collapsing in pond water. In the rural town of Bijoyanagar, due to the ponds formed along the road, such a picture of the road collapsing can be seen everywhere.
On the one hand, the unbanked ponds that are dug freely lead to public suffering and on the other hand, the government wastes crores of rupees. The local government department has warned against digging ponds along rural roads to overcome the problem. A circular has been issued in this regard.
According to the circular, digging ponds and irrigation canals along rural roads in violation of rules is a punishable offense according to the existing laws of the country. If a person constructs a pond, canal or well or irrigation canal along the roadside, he shall construct a protective shield at his own expense by maintaining a certain distance. If any problem arises in this case, the concerned authority can order its removal, excavation or re-excavation, closure or filling within 15 days.
According to Bijoyanagar Upazila Engineering Department, the total length of 10 union roads of the upazila is about 670.87 km. There are about 264.10 km of paved roads. Total unpaved road is 406.77 km. Every rural area has numerous roadside ponds. Small and big ponds have been dug using the road as a bank.
Sources of Upazila Engineering Department also said that even though the owners of these ponds have been requested to excavate the banks of the ponds or to protect the banks with returning walls, they are not taking it into consideration. The government is trying to protect the road by making a returning wall under compulsion. It increases the government expenditure. So far 36% of road returning walls have been provided at government expense.
Locals complain that the government spends crores of rupees to build roads. After a few days, these roads collapse into ponds. Little by little, the whole road disappeared into the pond. Pedestrians have to suffer in this. These broken roads are not repaired after years. No legal action is taken even if ponds are dug on roadsides.
Several public representatives of Bijoyanagar upazila said, ‘Even though we have warned the pond owners about this, they are not listening. Due to lack of own banks of the pond, roads worth crores of rupees are disappearing into the pond in a few days. Officially, it is not possible to repair the banks of so many ponds. We have listed the ponds and informed the higher authorities.’
Upazila Engineer Md Ashikur Rahman Bhuiyan said, ‘We build the roads with government money. But that road collapsed into the pond after a few days. Pond owners need awareness. It is a legal offense to waste public resources for private ponds.
