Silchar, Aug. 9: Decades of poor connectivity has seen development bypass Bhogirkhola village in Karimganj district of Assam. Even 70 years after Independence, the villagers yearn for pure potable water and with recent deluge bringing a flood of woes, their patience is beginning to run out.

Residents of Bhogirkhola and its surrounding villages today threatened to launch an agitation if construction of the Hatirdual-Bhogirkhola road (via Alamkhani), the foundation stone for which was laid three years ago, is not completed soon. They said because of the poor condition of the road, commuters face a lot of trouble. Furious over the tardy pace of construction, they raised allegations of embezzlement of government funds released for the work.

The villagers said Bhogirkhola has a water supply scheme but it is on the verge of becoming defunct because of the negligence of authorities. As a result, they face a crisis of pure drinking water which results in water-related diseases. Erratic power supply is another problem, they added.

The villagers also demanded adequate compensation for fishermen who suffered losses because of floods this year. They said 95 per cent of the fisheries were flooded, as a result of which they lost all the fingerlings. Fishery is the main source of livelihood in Bhogirkhola.

Bhogirkhola falls under Keotkuna gaon panchayat in south Karimganj constituency, around 18km from Karimganj town and 85km from here.

PWD executive engineer, Karimganj division, Rafique Uddin Choudhury, told this correspondent that inclement weather was the main reason behind the delay in completing the Hatirdual-Bhogirkhola road. "Around 45-50 per cent of the road has been completed. The rest will be done on a war-footing as soon as the weather improves (after monsoon)," he said.

He said Rs 1.7 crore was allocated for work under the chief minister's special package for Barak Valley and dismissed allegations of embezzlement of funds.

Nearly nine to 10 villages, having a population of 4,000 to 5,000, rely on the road for connectivity. Its foundation stone was laid by former minister Siddeque Ahmed around three years ago.

South Karimganj MLA Aziz Ahmed Khan of the AIUDF, who recently inspected the road, told The Telegraph that its construction had started when the Congress was in power in the state but its progress was slow from the beginning, leading to delay in its completion.

On compensation to fishermen, he said has talked to the district fishery development officer and a list, with the names of all the fishermen of the south Karimganj constituency, is being prepared. The list will be forwarded to Dispur after which the state government would decide the compensation amount.

On the drinking water crisis, he said the water supply scheme was old but functioning. He said some pipes do not work and low voltage creates further problems.

He said necessary steps would be taken soon.