Tk 7879cr toll collected in 26 yrs on Bangabandhu Bridge

Bhuapur (Tangail) Correspondent:
Since the inauguration of Bangabandhu bridge, total 7 thousand 879 crore 29 lakh 71 thousand 500 Taka tolls have been collected in 26 years. From June 1998 to June this year, this toll was collected from different vehicles plying on the bridge. Ahsanul Kabir Pavel, the Executive Engineer of Bangabandhu Bridge has confirmed this survey.
Bridge Authority says, first the name of this bridge was ‘Jamuna Bahumukhi Setu’. Later it was named ‘Bangabandhu Bridge’ which total construction cost was 3 thousand 745 crore 60 lakh taka. The construction of this bridge over the Jamuna river started in 1994 to connect the people of the north and west with the capital Dhaka. The bridge connects Bhuapur in Tangail on the east bank of the Jamuna river and Sirajganj on the west bank. The bridge was opened for communication on 23 June 1998. The target was to withdraw the investment money within 25 years. However, its construction cost came up 7 years before the scheduled time.
After the construction of this bridge, the maximum number of vehicles counting 55 thousand 488 crossed over the bridge on the occasion of this Eid-ul-Azha in 24 hours that added total toll 3 crore 58 lakh 40 thousand 200 taka.
According to the survey of Bangabandhu bridge authority on toll collection, Ahsanul Kabir Pavel, executive engineer of Bangabandhu Bridge gave explanations that in June 1998, total 98 lakh tolls were collected from the bridge. Later on the ratio of toll collection gradually rises. Total 61 crore 27 lakh taka was collected in 1998-99 fiscal year, in the same way 66 crore 94 lakh in 1999-2000, 82 crore 84 lakh in 2000-01, 93 crore 58 lakh in 2001-02, 108 crore 72 lakh in 2002-03, 131 crore 8 lakh in 2003-04, 152 crore in 2004-05, 197 crore 97 lakh in 2005-06, 173 crore 76 lakh in 2006-07, 201 crore 96 lakh in 2007-08, 214 crore 42 lakh in 2008-09, 2009-10 242 crore 99 lakh in the fiscal year, 267 crore 10 lakh in 2010-11, 306 crore 23 lakh in the year 2011-12, 327 crore 98 lakh in 2012-13, 325 crore 38 lakh in 2013-14, 351 crore 14 lakh in 2014-15 , 404 crore 88 lakh in 2015-16, 486 crore 52 lakh in 2016-17, 543 crore 80 lakh in 2017-18, 575 crore 34 lakh in 2018-19, 560 crore 28 lakh in 2019-20 fiscal year, 654 crores 82 lakh in 20-21, 704 crores 55 lakhs in fiscal year 21-22 and 680 crores 75 lakhs 71 thousand 500 takas have been collected in fiscal year 22-23.
He also said that the Dhaka-Tangail-Bangabandhu Bridge highway carries the transports of total 23 districts of North Bengal. Normally 18-20 thousand vehicles cross the bridge on an average day but during various festive holidays including Eid, the number of transport increases several times than that of usual time.