People climb bamboo bridge to access bridge worth Tk 89 Lakh

People in Ghazaria upazila of Munshiganj have to climb on a bamboo bridge to access a bridge built at a cost of about Tk 89 lakh. Unfortunately, the bridge, instead of benefiting the locals, has increased their sufferings.

The soil of the approach road on both sides of the bridge has shifted, compelling locals to traverse on foot over the bridge by constructing bamboo poles next to it. This scene was observed at the bridge built over the Teesta canal in Tengarchar village of Tengarchar union in Ghazaria upazila.

It is known that the Directorate of Disaster Management implemented this bridge over the Teesta canal in Tengarchar village in April of this year to improve commuting between Tengarchar and Hossaindi villages of the upazila.

During a visit, it was noticed that Haji Abdul Salam's house is on the east side of the bridge, while Abdul Hai's house is on the west side. As the length of the bridge is less compared to the length of the canal, about 150 feet long bamboo bridge has been constructed on both sides of the bridge. At least thousands of people from the two villages use the bridge every day.

However, due to the lack of soil support on both sides of the bridge, the locals' sufferings have increased instead of reducing, as they have to use the bamboo poles.

Local resident Samad Ali (45) said, “The bridge has been constructed after a long wait. Even though the bridge has been built, our suffering did not decrease; rather, it increased. Bamboo bridge has to be used to cross the bridge. It is very difficult for elderly people to climb up and down these bamboo bridge. Besides, most of the roads on both sides of the bridge are broken and encroached, so the bridge is not very useful for us."

Hosne Ara, an 6th-grade student of a local school, said that they have to climb about 150 feet of bamboo poles on both sides of the bridge, which is very difficult for them and even for many younger students who travel this way regularly.

In this regard, Chairman of Tengarchar Union Parishad, Kamrul Hasan Faraji, said, "I physically visited the bridge on July 15. There is no approach road on either side of the bridge, and it has to be climbed using bamboo bridge. To solve these problems, there is a need to fill sand and construct a guide wall. I have informed the Upazila Project Implementation Officer."

Gazaria Upazila Project Implementation Officer Tajul Islam said that the construction of the bridge has been completed. Only Tk 65,000 have been allocated for filling the approach road of the bridge, but in reality, it will cost several times more.

"The contract with the contracting organisation has expired. However, we did not pay them the full bill as there was some work left to be done, including earth filling. We will give another project to fill the bridge approach soil. Once the work is completed, there will be no more suffering for the users of the bridge," Tajul added.