Potholes, Promises, and the Pre-Election Season: A Road Finally Finds Its Moment in South Dinajpur

January 13,2026

Finally getting its long-awaited turn

Kamal Kumar Biswas.TOD.Balurghat 

With elections looming and political attention sharpening accordingly, a long-neglected rural road in South Dinajpur is finally getting its long-awaited turn at redemption.

The battered stretch running from Galakata More to Katna School in the Mamna Sansad area under Chakbhrigu Gram Panchayat of Balurghat block, infamous among residents for its chronic disrepair, is set to be renovated under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s flagship Rasta Shree scheme. The project was formally inaugurated on Tuesday afternoon by Ashok Krishna Kujur, a member of the South Dinajpur Zilla Parishad, in a ceremony that carried all the familiar trappings of election-season urgency.

Joining him were Malay Mondal, Saha-Sabhapati of the Balurghat Panchayat Samiti, Kalpana Kisku, a panchayat samiti member and former sabhapati, and several other local dignitaries — a notable turnout for a road that had, until recently, enjoyed years of administrative anonymity.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Mondal acknowledged what residents have long known. “This road has been in a deplorable condition for years,” he said, noting that villagers had repeatedly petitioned for its repair. Relief, it seems, has arrived just in time. The 1.5-kilometer stretch will be rebuilt at an estimated cost of nearly ₹1 crore, funded through the Rasta Shree initiative, one of the chief minister’s signature infrastructure programs.

The roadwork, leaders emphasized, is not merely about asphalt and drainage but about remembrance. Addressing residents of Chakbhrigu Gram Panchayat, Mr. Mondal urged them to “remember these development works carried out under Mamata Banerjee’s leadership,” adding that such remembrance would pave the way for even more development in the future — a sentiment that landed somewhere between civic appeal and electoral suggestion.

For locals, the promise of smoother travel is welcome, even if the timing feels familiar. As campaign season edges closer, roads across Bengal have a way of resurfacing — both literally and politically. Whether this newly sanctioned stretch will outlast the election rhetoric remains to be seen, but for now, the road has finally found its moment in the spotlight.