"The dream Padma Bridge is now our Self-esteem" -The Asian Age

 

There are different ways and ways with dreams. According to someone, why dream? Never dream. What is the benefit of sitting in a broken house and dreaming of lakhs of rupees? According to some, if you don't dream, how will the reality be, etc., etc.

 If there is no harmony between words and deeds, if there is no harmony in the realization of dreams, then dreaming is really a nightmare. And if you work with a dream while keeping the goal right, the dream itself acts as a symbol of ability.

The Padma Bridge is a shining example of this. So dreaming is not bad at all. If I don't dream, how can I explain my desire? That is why we must dream. Dreams are of two kinds in my opinion. A dream that is possible in reality and an dream that is not possible in reality. We have to see our dream again and again. Which was seen by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He always dreamed of building a golden Bengal. His successor Sheikh Hasina is now dreaming, dreaming. Whose unique exterior is the Padma Bridge.

Padma Bridge was once a dream of Bangladesh but now the Padma Bridge is visible. The dream was to work towards that goal, that is why this famous bridge of the country is visible with its own funds. To me, the Padma Bridge is a symbol of ability. But the way to build the dream Padma bridge was not smooth at all.

On the one hand, the complex engineering challenge of building a bridge over the Padma River, on the other hand, the conspiracy of a vested interest group in the country, the World Bank's baseless and speculative misinformation and consequent uncertainty of financing created obstacles in the way of construction of Padma Bridge. Plans for the construction of the Padma Bridge began in 1999 with a pre-feasibility study. Construction of the multi-purpose socio-economic development project 'Padma Multipurpose Bridge' on the Padma River was supposed to start in 2011 and was to be completed in 2013. Hon'ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone of the bridge at the end of Mawa on 4 July 2001 towards the end of the first term of her government.

After going through many ups and downs, the Hon'ble Prime Minister of this country Sheikh Hasina gave a proper answer to the allegations of vain and imaginary corruption of the World Bank in the Padma Bridge project and the ultimate non-cooperation. In response to the World Bank's allegations of gross corruption, Bangladesh said that so far no money has been released from the World Bank. No one else paid. How will there be corruption? Then the World Bank said there was a deep conspiracy of corruption. They canceled the agreement with Bangladesh on June 29, 2012 without proving the allegations of corruption.

In a cabinet meeting in July 2012, he decided that the Bangladesh government would build the Padma Bridge with its own funds. Hon'ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave the World Bank time till January 31, 2013 to return to the Padma Bridge project. Rejecting the loan of the World Bank, Bangabandhu Kanya announced the construction of Padma Bridge with her own funds. Hon'ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the construction work of the main bridge on January 12, 2015 at a cost of Tk 30,193 crore. The first span is sitting on the poles number 36 and 37 on September 30, 2016. If soft soil is found under 22 poles in between, the design needs to be modified. It takes extra time about a year.

 Hon'ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had immense confidence and trust in the people of this country. His challenge and steel-hardened victory prevailed. Egoism is defeated by the lies of the World Bank. The World Bank was later forced to admit that it had made a mistake in not fulfilling its promise to build the Padma Bridge. December 16, 2015, the World Bank Vice President. Kaushik Basu said at an event in Dhaka, 'The history of the construction of the Padma Bridge has caused considerable bitterness between Bangladesh and the World Bank. But the Bangladesh government has acted in its own way. Even 10 years ago, no one could have imagined that Bangladesh would be able to implement such a big project on its own. They can do this without relying on the World Bank.

The main Padma bridge is 6.15 km. The total length of the connecting bridge and the bridge is 9.63 km. Although the project cost Tk 30,193 crore, the construction of two-storey bridge including railway line cost Tk 12,100 crore. Tk 9,400 crore has been spent on 14 km river governance, Tk 1,500 crore on rehabilitation, Tk 2,600 crore on acquisition of 2600 hectares of land and Tk 1,908 crore on construction of 12 km long 8-lane connecting road. Besides, consultancy, army security, construction yard and other expenses are Tk 2,500 crore. There are 294 piles in Padma bridge. The average depth of these piles is 122 meters; Which is equivalent to a 40 storey building. As the soil condition at the bottom of the river was bad, the skin had to be grouted in 61 piles of 22 pillars. The 6.15 km long bridge has 415 electric lights.

The Padma Bridge, the dream of the Bengali nation, has now come true by breaking the web of domestic and foreign conspiracies. Just waiting for the inauguration. The much-anticipated Padma Bridge of the people of 21 districts in the south-west will be opened for traffic on June 25. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate. Awaiting the opening of three world record averages. The Padma River is the second largest river in the world after the Amazon. Top in the world in terms of water flow. Padma Bridge showed the world that Bangladesh is not going to lose.

After the Awami League government came to power in 2009, it started work on several big projects and finally the government took special initiative to implement these as priority projects of the government. These mega projects of the government are: Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project, Metro Rail Project in Dhaka, Rail Link Project on Padma Bridge, Railway Line Construction Project from Dohazari to Ramu via Cox's Bazar and Ramu to Ghumdhum, Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project, Matarbari Coal Power Plant Construction Project, LNG Terminal Construction Project, Coal Based Rampal Thermal Power Station Construction Project, Pigeon Port Construction Project and Sonadia Deep Sea Port Construction Project. Not just projects, according to the provisional estimates, the GDP growth rate in the fiscal year 2021-22 stood at 7.25 percent. At the end of the fiscal year 2020-21, the GDP growth rate was 7.94 percent. As a temporary provision for the fiscal year 2021-22, the per capita income has increased to 2 lakh 41 thousand 480 rupees which is 2 thousand 624 US dollars. In the fiscal year 2020-21, the per capita income was 2 lakh 19 thousand 638 rupees which is 2 thousand 591 US dollars. So it is not too late to understand that Bangladesh is going to be a model of development.

The Padma Bridge is not just a name, it is a dream. That dream is now real. People have long dreamed about this bridge. On that day, the door of communication of 21 districts of south-western region will be opened by direct road from the capital Dhaka. The wheel of economy will turn with the wheel of a car. The desired bridge will create a direct link between the capital and the south, just as new industries will be built in the area around the bridge. Direct communication will create new employment opportunities. Travel to the capital will take half as long as before.

 The Padma Bridge is a symbol of our nation's ability and confidence. Padma Bridge is an example of how capable Bangladesh has become. I have seen how much confidence Bangladesh has in Padma Bridge. The Padma Bridge was a critical response to a baseless allegation. Padma Bridge was the self-esteem of Bengalis. Padma Bridge is his strong protest that Bengalis never bow down to injustice. Self-esteem, our protest, our promise are mixed in every nook and cranny of Padma Bridge. Our pride. All in all, "the dream Padma Bridge is now a symbol of ability".


Gopal Odikari is a Journalist and
columnist.