Padma Bridge: Most Glorious Achievement of Bangladesh

 

Padma Bridge is the most glorious achievement of Bangladesh under the leadership of PM Sheikh Hasina It has connected Dhaka with the 21 southern districts and other parts of Bangladesh. It's the pride of Bangladesh because the bridge is constructed over one of the most turbulent rivers of the world. Padma Bridge is a multi-purpose road and railway bridge built over the Padma River in Bangladesh. The southwestern part of the country will be connected to the north-eastern part. Construction of the 6.15 km long and 18.10 m wide bridge started on December 7, 2014.

Initially, the construction cost was low, but later it increased a few points and stood at USD 3.868 Billion. Both construction time and construction costs increased. Although there are differing views on construction costs, the most promising thing is that the bridge has been completed and will be open to the public in June. This bridge will further strengthen the rail link with the southwestern part of the country. People will be able to travel comfortably in a short time from Dhaka. Various business establishments will be built around the bridge and the standard of living of the people of the South West will be multiplied. Although it is not named after her, people will know from generation to generation that this bridge was made possible because of her.

Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the epitome of her country's development, showed confidence and foresight by creating a world example like Padma Bridge. She had to walk on the path of huge obstacles but she has reached her destination. She established the truth by firmly confronting the conspiracy that was spread at the birth of the bridge. The Padma Bridge bears the signature of Ms Hasina's visionary leadership. The world got a chance to know once again the capacity of Bangladesh in the Hasina era. Bangladesh is a country that has repeatedly shown its capabilities. 'As a result of the construction of the Padma Bridge with its own money, the economic potential and image of Bangladesh have been established all over the world.'

The World Bank withdrew its pledge on false charges of corruption, and other donors followed suit. The future of the Padma Bridge was under a threat and the construction work on the Padma Bridge became uncertain. Critics then burst out laughing, creating a flurry of negative comments that it would not be possible for Hasina to build Padma Bridge. Canadian court, however, didn't find any proof of the Padma bridge bribery conspiracy. The then communications minister Abul Hossain had to resign from the cabinet. This was the beginning picture of the construction of the Padma Bridge. But after the construction work started, a great challenge came up. Bold and groundbreaking engineering skills were required in river governance and piling. At the same time, construction costs continue to rise.

The north will be bridged with the south. Dhaka can be reached in three hours by road from Barisal. The fate of the people of 21 districts on the south bank of Padma will change. Apart from enrolling on the development highway, Barisal-Khulna township will move forward on the path of becoming economically self-sufficient. So now the tide of joy is flowing across the south. Almost everyone is happy with the success of the Padma Bridge. The dream has become reality.

When Padma Bridge is started, the communication system with the whole country including Dhaka will be easy. The backward region will focus more on trade and commerce; new industrial units will be built in these districts. Bangladesh can join the bridge at the Asian Highway. As a result, the economy of the southern part will be accelerated as well as employment will increase.

On September 30, the first span of Padma Bridge was installed. A total of 41 spans have been installed in this bridge. The government hopes to finish the bridge in May 2022. The soil at the bottom of the river is usually very soft like a layer of sand. Whatever is to be ingested is like swallowing. In other countries, bedrock is easily found at the bottom of rivers when Padma shown exception. The Bedrock in Padma is being found in much deeper. The water level from the bottom of the river Padma is equal to that of a 13-storey building. Ganga on one side, Brahmaputra on the other- the waters of these two huge and long rivers of South Asia are named after this Padma in the Bay of Bengal. These two rivers carry the most sediment in the world. Many areas of Bangladesh have been formed by the siltation of the two rivers. The river is about six kilometers wide at the bridge construction site. The bridge has to cope with the pressure of the current coming down from the upper areas.

One of the biggest challenges in building bridges on the Padma is river training. 38 lakh tons of stones are needed for river management with 1 core 33 lakhs of blocks, having nearly 2 crores pieces of Geobags! As Bangladesh is located in Asia and the Pacific, the challenge of building bridges on land here is already high. they had to go much deeper in the soil. The soil was getting so soft that in some pilings they had to go over 100 meters deep. For this, many modern equipments have been used.'

About 2,542 hectares of land has been acquired for Padma Bridge construction. The construction of connecting roads is also a part of bridge construction. A 12-kilometer road of Mawa and Jazira is going to connect the Padma Bridge with the national network. The bridge stretches from Mawa in Munshiganj to Jazira in Shariatpur. The length of the main four-lane bridge is 6.15km. The number of piles is 294. Road viaduct is 3.148 km and rail viaduct is 0.532 km. If the part of the land is considered, the whole bridge will be 9 kilometers with approach road is 12.117 km. The train will run through a steel span on the pillars. Motor vehicles will run through the upper floor of the two-storey bridge. With 42 pillars, the distance from one pillar to another is 150 meters. 41 spans have been attached to 42 pillars. Each span weighs about 3,200 tons. The revised construction cost of the bridge is Tk 30,193 crore. Earthquake tolerance level 9 on the Richter scale when the lifespan of the bridge is measured 100 years. The depth of each pile is equal to 40 to 41 storey-building. It is said that the record cannot be broken until a bridge is built over the Amazon.

The second world record is the bearing between the pillar and the span. Never before in the world has such a large bearing been used on a bridge. The weight of each bearing is 10,500 metric tons (1,05,00000 KGs). Earlier such bearings were used on a bridge in America, weighing 8,000 metric tons (8000000 KGs). Seven more pillars have been constructed at a depth of just two kilometers from the bridge across the Padma. These pillars are several times higher than the Padma Bridge. These will turn into huge individual towers. This tower is for electricity connection for the people on both sides of the river. (For the main bridge) About 4,000 people were working on the longest bridge.

Padma Bridge is the first all-weld, super-thick-steel, double-duty steel truss bridge following European standards in Bangladesh. The Padma Bridge is the first in the world being constructed One of the country's foreign currency earning sectors is frozen fishery and jute industry, most of which earn income through export from Khulna. If the Padma Bridge is going to increase this income. Besides, the cost of transportation of goods will also be reduced. Likewise, due to railway communication in the Padma Bridge, new possibilities of trade and commerce will be exposed through the transport of the country's internal goods, along with the neighboring country and railways.

In the future, this bridge will play an important role in many areas including South Asia and Southeast Asia, including communications, trade and tourism. At the same time, the Bangladesh neighbors will be able to increase communication with different regions of the country. Roads and railways of Padma bridge will help to increase the employment, investment and export of the backward areas through these two. Besides, domestic and foreign investment will increase in the country. With the introduction of the Padma Bridge, direct engagement with Mongla Port will increase. As a result, there will be a radical change in the communication system. Benapole, even the neighboring country, will increase trade with India. Several industries have started to grow in the southwestern districts, surrounded by the Padma Bridge. Which will play a significant role in the country's economy and overall development? Padma is currently working on the speed of the Padma Bridge, whose successful implementation will be able to see it very soon.

As the Padma Bridge, the dream of millions in the south is going to be inaugurated next month, the miseries of people would end soon. The multipurpose bridge will make the journey easier for commuters and freight vehicles, and gradually boost the country's GDP by 1.3 to two per cent. The Padma Bridge, which is designed in two tiers with steel-truss composite keeping road on the top and rail below, is the deepest foundation bridge in the world. Sheikh Hasina has taken the great challenge of Padma Bridge and won. Bangladesh has already become a developing country. Padma Bridge will take the country faster. This bridge will play a unique role in taking Bangladesh to the line of developed countries. The decision of building the much-awaited Padma Multipurpose Bridge, which is set to open for traffic on June 25, brightened the country's image in the world and also accelerated the nation's confidence.


Dr NC Bhowmik is an academic, freedom fighter
 and former ambassador.