Tk 5cr bridge unused due to lack of approach roads
Mymensingh Correspondent :
A bridge constructed at a cost of Tk 5 crore over the Bogaputa Canal on the 15-kilometer-long Ishwarganj-Atharbari regional road has remained unused for the past three years due to the absence of approach roads on both sides. As a result, the bridge is serving no purpose in facilitating communication.
In 2020, the Roads and Highways Department awarded a work order worth Tk 115 crore 59 lakh for the construction of the Ishwarganj-Atharbari regional road. Taher Brothers, a contracting firm, was assigned the road construction work. Despite the adverse conditions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the contractor completed 9 kilometers of the road after receiving the work order.
However, due to the failure to complete land acquisition in approximately 2 kilometers of the 9th LCS Bogaputa section and in six mouzas under the 10th LCS, construction of the road and the bridge’s approach roads has remained suspended for four years amid local obstruction.
A 31.828-meter-long bridge was constructed over the Bogaputa Canal at a cost of nearly Tk 5 crore. Around ten families of Bogaputa village own land surrounding the bridge.
During a recent on-site visit, landowners Mojibur Rahman, Abdus Sattar, Abdul Latif, and Abdur Rashid stated that due to negligence by the authorities in resolving land acquisition complexities, they have not received compensation for their land. They said that unless they are paid, they will not allow the construction of the approach roads.
As the new bridge remains non-operational, thousands of light and heavy vehicles are crossing daily over a nearby dilapidated old bridge, risking accidents.
Babul Mia, President of the Ishwarganj Transport Workers’ Association, said that long-distance buses bound for Dhaka from Kendua and Atharbari are operating on this regional road at considerable risk.
Mofiz Uddin, Executive President of the Ishwarganj Rent-a-Car Club, said that the absence of approach roads to the Bogaputa Bridge causes severe traffic congestion while crossing the narrow old bridge nearby.
He added that the condition of the approximately 6-kilometer road from Ishwarganj to Bogaputa is so poor that they are unwilling to drive on it unless compelled by livelihood needs.
