The southwestern part of Moulvibazar Sadar Upazila is groaning under the relentless weight of heavy vehicles, leaving thousands of locals caught in the daily misery of crumbling roads.

For people in several unions of Moulvibazar and two neighbouring upazilas, what once were vital lifelines have now become stretches of broken asphalt and deep potholes.

The worst-hit are the Moulvibazar–Kagabala and Moulvibazar–Shamsherganj–Sreemangal roads.

Together they connect markets, schools, industries, and healthcare facilities over a stretch of roughly 16 kilometres.

But today, travelling those roads feels less like a journey and more like an ordeal.

At points such as Dighirpar, Aloha, Surya Pasha, Athangiri, and Dhandash, the surfaces have given way completely.

Potholes and broken patches make each trip unpredictable, whether for students heading to class, workers rushing to jobs, or families trying to reach a hospital.

 “I drive for Pran Food, and what should take 30 minutes now takes more than an hour,” said Milon Mia, a weary driver.

“Our vehicles are getting damaged, and passengers are frustrated,” he said.

The frustrations go beyond delays. For people like Jagadish Chandra Dey, a village doctor in Dighirpar Bazar, the roads have turned into a serious threat to patients’ lives.

“The road has been in a terrible state for years. For serious cases, especially for expectant mothers, the suffering is unimaginable,” he said.

Students too are among the worst affected. Jibon Dey Palash, who studies at Jashore University of Science and Technology, blamed the endless stream of heavy vehicles from nearby industries.

“Covered vans carrying eggs and feed from Kazi Farms, and trucks loaded with bricks, are ruining the road,” he said, urging the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) to act promptly.

The LGED, for its part, admits the problem and promises relief.

Shahed Hossain, engineer at the LGED office in Moulvibazar Sadar, said they inspected the damaged stretches in July.

“A renovation proposal has been submitted under the Road Maintenance and Repair Programme. Work will begin as soon as funding is approved,” he assured.

Until then, the residents of Amoil, Kagabala, and Nazirabad unions in Sadar Upazila, along with those in Mirzapur and Bhunabi of Sreemangal, and Gajnaipur and Paniumda of Habiganj’s Nabiganj Upazila, continue to live in limbo.

For them, every commute is a gamble between necessity and endurance.

With classrooms, clinics and markets hanging in the balance, locals can only hope the wheels of bureaucracy turn quickly enough to mend the wheels of their daily lives.