Villagers in Malda Protest against Poor Road Conditions Following Death of Young Woman

When two BJP lawmakers visited the grieving family of Mamani Roy, a 25-year-old housewife who passed away on Friday due to a poor road in her village, they encountered hostility from the people of Maldanga village in the Malda district on Sunday.

Mamani, who was in serious condition, was confined to a cot fastened with ropes and bamboo sticks and was traveling 5 kilometers to the hospital when she passed suddenly.

Ambulances, e-rickshaws, and other vehicles were allegedly unable to reach her husband Kartik and other villagers due to the terrible road.

To comfort Mamani's family, Malda North BJP MP Khagen Murmu and Habibpur BJP MLA Joel Murmu traveled to Maldanga on Sunday. Within the Bamangola block, Maldanga village is included in their constituency.

The moment the MP set foot in the hamlet, the locals wanted to know why the Gobindapur-Maheshpur panchayat-owned, five-kilometer road between Maldanga and Bamangola block hospital had been in such terrible condition for years.

As our MP, you are. Why the road is so bad that ambulances won't even come to our hamlet has to be addressed. We need a real road right now, not any more hollow promises," a female protestor said.

Khagen Murmu served three years as a CPM MLA in Habibpur prior to winning a seat as a BJP MP. He became a member of the BJP in 2019 and won the Malda North seat in the legislature. Joel Murmu of the BJP won the Assembly bypoll at the same time that he resigned as an MLA. Joel Murmu kept his seat in Habibpur in 2021.

From his MPLAD budget, Khagen Murmu claimed he set aside Rs 13 lakh to construct a bituminous road in the hamlet.

He made a phone call from the location to the BDO of the Bamangola block, advising him to secure the remaining funds needed for the road from the state welfare agency for the underprivileged.

The district administration's lack of interest has prevented the construction of the road. Approximately two years before, several district authorities had said that the construction of the road would begin. "The administration has not taken any action thus far," the MP said.

The two BJP representatives eventually departed, but the amount the MP had quoted infuriated the locals. "13 lakh rupees is insufficient to build a 5 kilometer road properly. It's widely known to the MP. We demand the quick building of a good road instead of such eyewash," a villager named Suman Das said.

According to reports, the BDO notified the MP that the district administration was handling the situation.

Administration sources said that a Rs 2 crore budget had been set out for the road. "Work will start soon," the insider said.

Trinamul leaders in the area criticized the MLA and the BJP MP.

"Despite having been MPs and MLAs for a while, these two have never provided for the needs of the public. They seldom visit these kinds of places, and now they are attempting to manipulate politics around a regrettable event. People demonstrating in front of them was only normal, according to Malda Trinamul vice-president Dulal Sarkar.