Residents of a ward in Englishbazar municipality are constructing a road in the locality with their own money as the civic body ruled by the Trinamul Congress doesn’t have funds.

At Subhashpally in ward 23 of the town, the residents have raised around Rs two lakh to build a concrete road with a length of 400ft and width of 10ft. Masons engaged by the residents commenced the construction on Sunday.

Tarun Goswami, who stays in Subhaspally, said the road was regularly used by around 1,700 families.

“For the past few months, the road has been in a deplorable condition. When we
approached the local councillor and asked him to see that the road was built again, he told us that funds were not available with the civic
body and we needed to wait. So, we decided to raise funds from among us to turn the broken stretch into a concrete road. It will be durable as well as beneficial for us,” Goswami said.

Sujit Saha, the local councillor, admitted that the municipality was facing a shortage of funds.

“The voluntary effort of the citizens is praiseworthy. They happily contributed as much as they could. While some chipped in Rs 2,000,
others contributed a little less. There were some who offered larger amounts. The local people are planning to
carry out the beautification of the stretch after the construction is over,” the councillor said.

Saumitra Banik, another resident, said the councillor had also donated an amount for the construction of the road.

“The initial estimate showed that we needed around Rs two lakh for the construction. That amount has been arranged. However, if more money is required to finish the work and for beautification, we are ready to contribute again,” he said.

Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, the civic chairman, appreciated the residents.

“The residents have done a commendable job. In the coming days, when we have adequate funds, we would surely provide money for any work required in the locality,” Choudhury said.