RATANPUR (Murshidabad), 17 NOV: Villagers here have embarked on a collective effort for constructing a clay road which would serve as a short-cut and curtail around 30 km road distance to reach their district headquarters of Behrampore. As the local gram panchayat preferred to sit idle, the residents of Ratanpur village at Khargram block of Kandi sub-division in Murshidabad, decided to build a 2-km clay road without government help. The road, running on a plot of lowland adjoining their settlement, would enable the villagers to avoid travelling 30 km out of their way. Surrounded by a cluster of lakes all around Ratanpur, the 8,000 villagers are left with only one option: to travel up to Nagar, a semi-urban area nine km away, to reach Behrampore via Kandi requiring them to cover 60 km in the process. This roundabout route could be cut short by 30 km, opined the villagers. The 2-km stretch of short cut would take travellers to Dwarka river and after crossing the river the trip to Behrampore would come down to less than 30 km, they stated. With a number of petitions by locals failing to move the panchayat authority, construction work started a few months ago when the villagers resolved to collect Rs 300 per head in the Ratanpur area for the purpose. The money was used to buy a machine meant for digging and depositing soil on the track, said Mr Abu Saleh, a local resident. The construction is going on at full pace and the road would be opened soon, he added. The Margram gram panchayat pradhan, Mr Ajit Ganguly, said: “Last year we repaired the road. It is good that the villagers are determined to make a new road on their own.” Administrative officials of Kandi sub-division, however, denied having received any petition requesting to make the short cut.