Local residents staged a demonstration by blocking the road in the Ulipur upazila headquarters of Kurigram on Tuesday, demanding the speedy implementation of a bypass road project aimed at easing chronic traffic congestion.
Several hundred people took to the main streets to press for the demand for completing the work on the proposed bypass road from Ulipur Helipad to Amin Mor, which remained suspended due to various reason.
They also formed a human chain on the road.
Vehicular movement came to a standstill, suspending road communication between Kurigram and the neighbouring areas of Chilmari and Gaibandha following the protest.
Speakers at the human chain said the number of vehicles in Ulipur has increased sharply in recent years, resulting in frequent and prolonged traffic congestion on roads in the upazila headquarters.
They said pedestrians, students, businesspeople and patients seeking emergency medical services are among those suffering most from the worsening traffic situation.
The speakers stressed that construction of a bypass road has become a long-standing demand of local residents to reduce traffic pressure and minimise the risk of road accidents.
Tariq Abul Ala Chowdhury, former mayor of Ulipur municipality and convener of the upazila BNP, upazila BNP Member Secretary Md Haidar Ali, Joint Convener Principal Obaidul Rahman Bulbul and former Hatiya Union Parishad Chairman Abul Hossain spoke at the programme.
The speakers urged the authorities concerned to take visible steps to implement the project without further delay and warned of tougher movement if their demand is not met immediately.
According to sources at the Kurigram Roads and Highways Department, the Ulipur link road project was included in the “Chilmari Link Road” project in 2023 at an estimated cost of Tk 68.25 crore with a planned implementation period of two and a half years.
The proposed road, approximately 3.2 kilometres in length, was scheduled for completion in December last year. However, the project faced delays due to local objections and complications related to land acquisition.
Although the project deadline was later extended until December 2026, no significant progress has been made so far.
Kurigram Roads and Highways Executive Engineer Mir Nizam Uddin Ahmed said local opposition and land acquisition complications were the main reasons behind the delay.
“Nearly Tk 10 crore of the allocated funds had to be returned due to these issues. Although the extended deadline expires in December this year, there has been no progress in the implementation of the project,” he said.