Tk 140m bridge lies useless in Brahmanbaria

A bridge by definition exists to connect two places, to allow seamless communication despite changes in terrain that may have otherwise required a change of vehicle.

Against this there is a singular image of a bridge as a standalone structure, like some commissioned sculpture, with no roads leading to it, neither any going away, even as the main bridge structure stands tall over the Pagla river in Krishnagar union of Brahmanbaria.

With no approach roads on either side though, it is rendered worthless and the Tk 140 million spent on it would seem to have been a total waste of public resources.

In a recent visit we found locals were still forced to cross this stretch of the Pagla river by the traditional boat costing Tk 10 each.

When the decision was taken to build the bridge, mostly it was meant to benefit the people of Krishnagar, Borail and Birgaon unions.

Local people said it would form the most important connecting route for the people of the three unions to reach the Sadar upazila, and from there on to the district town.

The construction of the main structure of the bridge in Krishnagar area began in January 2016 and ended in June 2018.

Hasan Enterprise won the contract for the main structure of the bridge from the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) under its Rural Transport Improvement Project (RTIP-2).

We have got the bridge for the noble initiative of former MP of Brahmanbaria-5, Fayzur Rahman, they said.

Fayzur Rahman was an MP for Awami League from 2014-2018 who failed to secure the party’s nomination in the last general elections.

Locals also said work has been done on the approach roads on both sides of the bridge, but ultimately not connected to it.

Md Nurul Islam, Nabinagar upazila engineer said there was some 'complexity' with the purchase of land connecting the bridge on both sides.

"But that has been resolved and soon the approach road construction will be completed," he added.

The current MP for Nabinagar Ebadul Karim Bulbul said the issue will be resolved "after consulting with the project implementation authority and others concerned."