The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) is showing visible results in transforming rural communications in the south-west and reviving the farm-based local economy. Modern road infrastructure and a growth centre built in Chuadanga under phase 1 of the World Bank-supported Western Economic Corridor and Regional Enhancement Program, or WeCARE, have opened new prospects for the area.
As part of the reconstruction of seven markets, about 92.77km of road and the necessary bridges and culverts in Chuadanga district, work on package CW-10 in Jibannagar upazila has been completed. It has modernised about 16.5km of road, a bridge, 34 culverts and the historic Andulbaria growth centre.
The two main roads, Uthali-Andulbaria and Banka-Andulbaria, were previously only 10 feet wide, and local people long suffered great hardship in moving vehicles and farm produce. Under the project the two roads have been widened to 18 feet and given road markings and modern road safety features, which has made transport more orderly and safer and speeded up travel for farmers, traders and students.
Alongside the road works, the modernisation and environment-friendly development of the Andulbaria growth centre is helping local trade. The market now has a compost plant to make fertiliser from waste, a modern slaughterhouse, solar lighting, improved drainage and separate sanitation facilities for women and men. Waterlogging has been relieved, and buying and selling at night is safer and cleaner.
The change directly affects about 200,000 people and more than 35,000 farming families in Jibannagar upazila. Perishable, high-value produce such as dragon fruit, guava, malta and fish can now reach wholesale markets in different parts of the country much faster and more cheaply than before. Direct contact between farmers and wholesalers has reduced waste and transport costs significantly.
Shahiduzzaman, LGED’s executive engineer in Chuadanga, said carrying out the project had opened wide opportunities for income and employment for local people from the construction stage. The quality of the work and the benefits of the infrastructure had drawn a positive response from local people. He hoped the benefits of the Jibannagar model would be extended in stages to Alamdanga, Damurhuda and Chuadanga Sadar upazilas, raising farm output and improving social and economic conditions across the district.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report