Fifteen lakh people of five upazilas of Sylhet division have been suffering badly as Sylhet-Golapganj-Zakiganj-Biyanibazar road  has become almost unfit for movement due to lack of renovation for long. The road is the main mode of communication for the residents of Golapganj, Biyanibazar, Zakiganj, Kanaighat upazilas of Sylhet district and Borolekha upazila of Moulvibazar district. Also read : Sylhet’s Osmani hospital’s intern doctors call off strike Besides, goods of imports and exports between India and Bangladesh through Sutarkandi (Sheola) land port through are transported on this road. Locals said big potholes developed on the road due to lack of renovation for the last several years, making it unfit for movement of vehicles as well as pedestrians. Sometimes goods-laden trucks get stuck in these potholes and it takes almost double time to reach destinations because of the slow movement of vehicles on the road. Although this road has been in such a terrible condition for several years the authorities have not taken any initiative to repair it, they said.  Also read : Abandoned well at Beanibazar resumes gas supply to national grid Zahid Ahmed, a resident of Baraigram of Charkhai area said, the road is used by many school and college students, job holders, businessmen and people of all classes. Patients who come to the city for treatment have to endure untold sufferings during movement on the road. Enam Ahmed, vice president of Biyanibazar Chamber of Commerce, said it’s a very important road as it is used by residents of five upazilas but it has become dilapidated for lack of maintenance work. Abul Kashem Pallab,chairman of Biyanibazar upazila parishad, demanded immediate renovation of the road. Md. Mostafizur Rahman, executive engineer of Roads and Highways department, Sylhet, said the potholes were created on some portion of the road. Also read : Gas reserve found in abandoned well of Beanibazar  Biyanibazar-Chandarpur-Sylhet and Biyanibazar-Kalijuri-Sylhet roads which are under the supervision of Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) is used by the local people as alternative mode of communication with divisional city. But in the last few years the roads have also become vulnerable.

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid on Monday formally announced Zakiganj as the country 28th gas field having 68 billion cubic feet of gas reserve. The state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company (Bapex) made the discovery in June last, but refrained from making any formal announcement as it was assessing the prospects of viable recovery in recovering gas from the drilled well at Ananadapur village in Zakiganj upazila, Sylhet. Read: BAPEX cautiously optimistic as it tests new well at Zakiganj The formal announcement on the new gas discovery came at a webinar, organized by Energy and Mineral Resources Division to observe August 9 as National Energy Security Day marking the historic decision of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to take over 5 gas fields in Sylhet region from multinational Shell Oil Company in 1975.      The state minister said the new gas field has a possible reserve of 68 billion cubic feet of gas to be extractable in next 12-13 years at 10 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD). “The value of the entire reserve at the new gas field would be Tk 1,276 crore,” he added, saying that a 3D survey will be conducted to find the accurate position of the fossil fuel in the virgin field. So far, 27 gas fields have been discovered in the country. The proven reserves in these gas fields are 21.4 TCF, with six more TCF potential reserves. Of this, about 18 TCF has been taken. There are only three TCFs left as proven stocks, and potential reserves are likely to be seven more TSFs. Read: BAPEX discovers 4-layer gas in new part of Haripur