Tk 32 lakh goes in vain

A bridge constructed over a canal in Bhuyanpur of Tangail at a cost of Tk 32 lakh has gone in vain as it does not have approach roads on either side, causing immense suffering to people of nearby char areas. According to the Upazila Project Implementation Office, a 38-feet-long bridge was constructed on a canal near a local house called Gabsara Hat in Chandipur village of Gabsara Union under the 15-meter-long bridge culvert construction project on the rural road of the Disaster Management Department in 2018-19 fiscal year. The contracting firm Messrs Rahi Enterprise built the bridge at a cost about 32 lakh.

It has been seen on the spot that the bridge was constructed at Chandipur village (east side of Gabsara Hat) in Gabsara union of the upazila. Although two years have passed since the construction, the locals are still not getting the opportunity to use it. People are moving under the bridge, as there is no connecting road. The locals said they were suffering. Al Amin, resident of Chandipur village, said “Although the bridge was built for the people of the area a long time ago, it is not usable. The bicycle cannot be lifted on the bridge. We travel under the bridge.”

He claimed that the authorities have built the bridge in an unplanned way. Shahar Mandal and Saiful Islam, two resident of the area, said, the bridge is no use for vehicle movement. The contracting firm did not build the road but just built the bridge.

The total cost of the bridge has gone in vain. They also demanded to the authorities to make the bridge usable quickly. Contacted, Moniruzzaman Monir, chairman of Gabsara Union Parishad, said “The contracting firm has built the bridge but not the road. Currently, soil is being dumped there from another project to cross the bridge. However, no allocation has been made for this.”

Zahurul Islam, Upazila Project Implementation Officer (PIO), told the media that a project has been given to build a road filling both sides of the bridge with soil. The local chairman has been asked to implement the work. Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Ishrat Jahan told the media that necessary steps will be taken to build the road after inspecting the site.

---Farman Sheikh in Bhuyanpur