Staff Reporter :
The livelihood of the people of Monoharganj Upazila in the Cumilla district has changed drastically due to the construction of a 50-metre RCC Arch Girder Bridge on the Nadona Khal.
This project was completed under the ‘Supporting Rural Bridges (SupRB)’ programme of the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED).
The construction of this 50-metre-long RCC Arch Girder Bridge has fulfilled the long-cherished dream of the Monoharganj residents by establishing uninterrupted road connectivity between the Cumilla, Feni, and Noakhali districts.
Both LGED officials and local beneficiaries have noted the significant impact on the community.
Project officials stated that LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Md. Tazul Islam inaugurated the Nadona Khal Bridge in December, and since then, the livelihoods of the local people have improved considerably.
The USD $614 million LGED programme encompasses several key components aimed at improving Bangladesh’s rural infrastructure.
This includes the major and minor maintenance of 85,000 metres of bridges, the rehabilitation of 24,000 metres of bridges, and the capacity expansion (widening) of 5,000 metres of rural bridges.
Additionally, the programme involves the replacement or construction of 20,000 metres of new bridges.
Further, the initiative focuses on enhancing the technical, fiduciary, procurement, social, and environmental capacities of LGED.
This includes designing and implementing climate-resilient bridges and establishing and operationalizing a Grievance Redress System (GRS).
The programme will be implemented across 61 of the 64 districts in Bangladesh, excluding the three hill districts.
The World Bank is committed to reducing the maintenance backlog of rural bridges by funding the proposed Programme for Supporting Rural Bridges (SupRB).
Since September 2018, the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) has been implementing the Supporting Rural Bridges (SupRB) operation.
This initiative, funded by the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group, aims to provide safe, reliable, and climate-resistant bridges on Bangladesh’s rural roads over a five-year period.
Altogether, a total of 3,715 bridges are being implemented through this programme under six interventions.
As of June 3, the physical progress of civil works is equivalent to 62 percent, and financial progress is equivalent to 53 percent.
The construction of new bridges fulfils the long-cherished dream of the people in the respective areas.
Project Director Anowar Hossain, also Additional Chief Engineer of LGED, said, “This aesthetically beautiful bridge also filled up the last missing link of the Munshirhat-Hasnabad route.
It portends an era of socioeconomic transformation, linking the more marginalised south-west regions with the rest portion of the district, and is also expected to give a big boost to internal communication and beyond.”
Additionally, it will improve access to health and education facilities. increase enrollment rates in rural education as well as the frequency of visits to health care services.
It will be easier to supply goods to different parts of the country, including Dhaka.
The biggest impact was on girls’ enrollment in primary education, which more than trebled in the project zones.
Women will also benefit from the existence of bridges towards moving to markets, schools, health centres, etc. Women’s mobility will also be dramatically increased within the areas, he added.
The project officials and local beneficiaries stated that on both sides of the bridge, provisions have been made for walkways and also for lighting, which has made the bridge attractive.
Surrounding the 412-metre approach road, protection work and a guidepost have also been built.