A group of residents in Bhatakhana under the town’s ward 2 sowed paddy on a waterlogged road as a mark of protest on Sunday.

The incident created ripples in the town as such paddy-on-road protests are usually seen in rural areas.

“We are ashamed to introduce ourselves as residents of a town. It is hard to believe that we don’t live in a remote village but in a civic area and headquarters of a district. The state of roads in our area is pathetic. For many years now, no repairs have been carried out on the road that connects our locality. That is why we sowed paddy seedlings in protest against the apathy of the civic body and district administration,” said Ranjit Roy, a Bhatkhana resident.

In 2015, Trinamul had bagged the civic board in Jalpaiguri. However, in ward 2, a CPM candidate had won. As of now, the municipality is being run by a board of administrators.

“A number of times, CPM candidates have won from this ward. Unfortunately, they did nothing for the basic development of the area,” said Krishnendu Guha, a resident.

Sandip Mahato, a member of the BoA of the civic body, blamed the immediate past CPM councillor of the ward.

“It is true that we were in power at the municipality for past five years. But we never received any proposal from the ward councillor for construction or repair of the road. Instead, the councillor instigated residents to resort to movements against the civic body,” Mahato said.

Former councillor Durba Banerjee denied these charges. “I never got any cooperation or assistance from the civic board. Several proposals were sent to the civic board and Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority to improve the infrastructure of this area, but were ignored,” Banerjee said.

Local BJP leaders said they supported the people.

“Residents of the ward are deprived by the former councillor and civic board. Dilapidated road apart, there is no streetlight and the drainage system is in a shambles. We support what the residents did today,” said Tapati Tantra, a BJP district committee member.