A seven-kilometre stretch of road from Sadpasha in Prithimpasha union to Muroichhara in Karmadha union in Moulvibazar's Kulaura upazila has long been in a dilapidated state.

The bitumen surface and bricks have been eroded from the road at numerous places due to a lack of renovation for prolonged period. There are hundreds of potholes on the road, some being 30-50 feet wide.

Residents, including students, from around 20 villages under the two unions, including 12 Khasi punjees, use the road daily for commute. The road connects several educational institutions including Longla Modern Degree College, and Ali Amjad High School and College, among others, in the area.

"The road was last renovated in 2017-18 fiscal year. Since then, it went through a lot of wear and tear, including damage from rain and flood, and is now in a terrible shape. It has become very risky and accident-prone for vehicular movement. The locals repeatedly called upon the authorities concerned to repair the road, but to no avail," said Muhibul Islam Azad, chairman of Karmadha union parishad.

Jasim Uddin, a driver of CNG-run auto-rickshaw, said, "The road surface is severely damaged. The entire seven-kilometre stretch has hundreds of potholes of different shapes. Some are so wide and deep that whenever it rains, water accumulates in those potholes to resemble a ditch. Driving vehicles on the road has become very risky and turbulent, and accidents can happen any time."

Locals Yunus Mia and Noor Mia echoed him.

Jimiur Rahman Chowdhury, chairman of Prithimpasha union parishad, said he had raised the issue of repairing the road several times in the monthly meeting of the Kulaura Upazila Parishad.

"The upazila engineer gave assurance that initiative will be taken soon to repair the road," he added.

Contacted, Tarek Bin Islam, upazila engineer of LGED in Kulaura, said, "A proposal has been sent to the higher authorities for repair work of 20-km road network in the upazila, including the Sadpasha-Muroichhara road. If approved, the repair work of the road will begin after the tender process."