The Pirpur-Ganjerghat bridge, built on the Mathabhanga river in Chuadanga Sadar upazila, was completed approximately two months ago, but it is still not in use. This 90-meter-long and 5.5-meter-wide bridge took Tk 6.66 crore to build.
Before the completion of the construction of the bridge, the construction of the connecting road of the bridge should be completed.
But due to complications regarding land acquisition, uncertainty has arisen regarding the construction of the link road. Due to this, the movement of vehicles and local people is facing extreme suffering.
Starting from local farmers and students, everyone is crossing the river by risking their lives, sometimes by boat or by sledgehammer. But the condition was that the necessary land and utility of connecting the bridge should be checked. In this case, if there is any complication, the authorities should be informed before calling the tender.
It has been seen on the ground that the lessees of Khia Ghat have made bamboo planks for public crossing next to the Pirpur-Ganjerghat bridge.
Motorcycles, bicycles and people on foot are crossing that bamboo fence. Boats are used instead of canoes when the water in the river rises during the monsoon season.
On the other hand, local men and women can be seen climbing up and down the bridge using bamboo ladders. Climbing up the bridge with a bamboo ladder, local corn traders and ordinary farmers can be seen working on the bridge to harvest rice and corn.
According to the sources of Local Government Engineering Directorate (LGED), an initiative was taken to construct a bridge over Mathabhanga river on Pirpur-Ganjerghat road for the convenience of local people. The construction cost of the 90-metre-long and 5.5-metre-wide bridge is estimated at 7 crore 64 lakh 88 thousand 397 taka. When the tender was called, Kushtia's contractor was established for the construction of the bridge. An agreement was signed with Nuruzzaman Mia and Saikat Enterprise for 6 crore, 66 lakh, 68 thousand, 10 taka.
Member of Parliament for Chuadanga-1 Constituency Solaiman Haque Joardar laid the foundation stone of the bridge at Ganjerghat end on January 31, 2021. According to the contract, the bridge should be completed by August 18, 2022 and opened for public traffic.
The bridge could not be commissioned even after almost two years of the scheduled time.
The locals complained that the bridge was built on the Mathabhanga river, some distance from the Pirpur-Ganjerghat road. We cannot use the bridge as there is no road on both sides. For this reason, we are using the boat and Sankoy river crossing system at the risk of life.
During the rainy season, the sailors of Kheyaghat pull the rope to cross the boat. Many people have to cross paths with the product. A quarter of 7 crore rupees allocated by the government for the construction of bridges could not bring modern communication facilities to our lives.
Jhantu, a farmer of Hatkaluganj and a resident of Ganjerghat Par, said that the LGED bridge was built at a cost of 7 crore rupees by the government.
But he is of no use to the people of Breez. There are days when we have to cross the river 2-3 times for farming. We have to pay 5 taka each time we cross the river by boat.
Executive Engineer of LGED Chuadanga, Jahangir Alam, said that the construction of the bridge has already been completed. Efforts are underway to acquire land for the link road.
LGED has the necessary funds for construction of link roads and acquisition of land.
Once the complications of acquisition are cleared, the price will be paid to the land owner as per the rules, and the connection road construction will be completed at the earliest. I hope this problem will be solved soon.
