Locals Turn to Paddy Protest Over Crumbling Road in Assam's Lumding

Anger spilled onto the streets of Lumding as scores of villagers staged a dramatic protest against a dilapidated road that has remained in ruins for years. In a symbolic act of defiance, residents laid out bundles of harvested paddy across the broken stretch, turning the neglected pathway into a site of resistance.

The protest, led by residents of No. 1 Khangar Basti, has once again laid bare the hollow claims of development in the Lumding constituency. The road that connects Sishu Tola to Kailash Temple has long been a nightmare for locals, forcing them to wade through muck and waterlogged craters every monsoon.

Villagers recalled that around five years ago, the panchayat authorities had dumped some JSB material on the road, but what was touted as a repair job has since disintegrated into a death trap. “Instead of improving our lives, the road has become a hazard. Every downpour leaves the area submerged. Students, emergency vehicles, and daily commuters all suffer because of the condition,” said a villager.

Despite repeated complaints to the panchayat representatives and the local MLA, residents allege that no serious steps have been taken. “During elections, we see the leaders. After that, they vanish. Our voices mean nothing to them once they’ve secured our votes,” one angry protester remarked.

At present, the road in Ward No. 2 of Khangar village resembles a swamp. With knee-deep water pooling on its surface during the rains, the route has become virtually impassable. Students on their way to school are often forced to trek through mud, while patients requiring urgent medical attention face severe delays.

Frustrated with years of neglect, villagers have demanded immediate intervention from their MLA Sibu Mishra and panchayat representatives. “We are not asking for luxuries, just a functional road. If this issue continues to be ignored, the anger of the people will only intensify,” warned a villager during the protest.

The paddy-laden road protest has amplified a longstanding truth about rural infrastructure in Assam: for many communities, promises of development remain little more than seasonal rhetoric, resurfacing only when ballots are at stake.

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