Postagola Bridge, vital link or a suicide spot?

Shahariar Islam Sovon :
Suffering from a recurring trend, individuals resort to suicide by jumping from Dhaka’s Postagola Bridge, posing a significant concern for both the populace and the naval police.

Records indicate that within the past two years alone, a staggering 41 individuals have tragically taken their lives by leaping from this bridge.

However, law enforcement suspects that the actual number of suicides might surpass the documented cases, underscoring the gravity of the situation.

According to police sources in Shampur and Keraniganj, there was an average of one suicide annually in the years 2021, 2020, and 2016.

However, there were two suicides reported per year in 2019 and 2018. Additionally, instances of suicide have been recorded in the area.

Police data says early suicides have not been reported on the bridge since it was opened to traffic in 1989.

Despite the fact that there were 2 suicides in the early 1990s, the number of suicides climbed significantly after 2000.

Every year, an average of two to three people commit suicide.

Officer-In-Charge of Keraniganj Model Thana Abdul Salam Mia told The New Nation that family issues can be incredibly distressing and overwhelming for individuals, leading to feelings of hopelessness and despair. ‘

These issues could range from conflicts, abuse, financial struggles, relationship breakdowns, or loss of a loved one within the family’, he said.

The police department is unaware of the exact number of individuals who have committed suicide outside of official records.

Some individuals attempted to leap off the bridge, but their bodies were discovered in various locations, complicating the accurate recording of such incidents.

Locals told The New Nation that some of the corpses have yet to be discovered. ‘The majority of suicides are planned for the middle of the night when darkness has fallen’ they said.

Some individuals attempted suicide by jumping into the lake in the middle of the night, but they were crushed by the pillar altar and perished as a result of their fall. Hammad Mia, a 49-year-old Postagola local, said that the bridge is now referred to as the Suicide Bridge by many people.

In 2017, Policerecovered the bodies of a young couple who jumped off the Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge in the River Buriganga on Wednesday.

The man was identified as Imon,23, and the woman as Kanika,18.

Meanwhile, Roads and Highways Department (RHD) started repair works on the bridge on February 22 and kept the bridge off-limit for heavy vehicles like trucks, pickup vans, covered vans, and lorries since then.

The department said that two girders of the Bangladesh-China Friendship Buriganga Bridge-1 were repaired and retrofitted.

It is crucial to assess whether the authorities have taken effective measures to prevent jumping-off incidents from Postagola Bridge.