RANGPUR'S GANGACHARA UPAZILA

40,000 villagers face commuting woes for absence of a bridge

FE Team | Published: February 24, 2025 21:38:12

OUR CORRESPONDENT
RANGPUR, Feb 24: Absence of a permanent bridge over the Ghaghot River at Paikan Kutirghat in Alambiditor union of Gangachara upazila of Rangpur district has been creating prolonged sufferings for around 40,000 residents of different villages.
Local sources said the only means of travelling for the people living in the villages is a wooden and bamboo-made bridge.
Thousands of people commute to and from the upazila headquarters every day using the bamboo and wooden bridge erected over the river.
Visiting the neighbourhood, this FE correspondent found many local people crossing the makeshift bridge risking their lives.
Rabin Mia, a local resident, told the FE that there is no end to suffering of the local people owing to the absence of a concrete bridge over the river.
Thousands of people including sick men, women and children, old people, students of schools, colleges and madrasas are to cross the wooden and bamboo-made structure risking their lives, Rabin Mia said.
Riders of motorcycle and bicycle also suffer a lot as they are compelled to cross the risky structure jeopardising their lives, he added.
Besides, farmers and traders face much trouble while crossing the bridge carrying their produces and goods and they often meet accidents, he said.
Likewise, a good number of locals told the FE that accidents take place very often as the bridge is not safe at all for journey.
During rainy season, using the wooden bridge involves danger as it becomes quite slippery then, some locals said.
In this situation, locals made an appeal to the government to take necessary steps to set up a permanent bridge over the Ghaghot River at Paikan Kutirghat point in order to ensure smooth communication of the locals in the area.
They also laid emphasis on constructing a concrete bridge there for developing the socio-economic condition of the people in the upazila.
It is alleged, though locals have been demanding a permanent bridge over the river for more than five decades, their dream is yet to be fulfilled.
Alambitor Union Parishad member Abdur Rashid said people of different villages including Tulsirhat, Dangi Paikan,Phulbarir Chawra,Pramanik Para, Mesnikunda, and Sairabari under Alambiditor and Betgari union have been suffering a let due to lack of a concrete bridge there.
During the time of election, local political leaders make frequent commitment to build a concrete bridge over the river, but they become unmindful of it after election, he added.
Local Union Parishad chairman Aftabuzzaman said during the coordination meeting of upazila parishad, proposal was made several times to build a
permanent bridge at Paikan Kutirghat site. But due to indifference of both the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) and Water Development Board (WDB), it is yet to be implemented.
Sub-Divisional Engineer, Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), Rangpur , Akhinur Islam, said a proposal was sent to the higher authorities to construct a concrete bridge there to ease sufferings of the local people. But the proposal was yet to be implemented owing to lack of required fund.
Upazila Engineer, LGED,Gangachara, Majidul Islam, however, said, the proposed site of the bridge belongs to the irrigation canal area under the jurisdiction of the WDB. Usually, local people use the area for travelling, he also said.
On the other hand, the road of LGED is in further upstream which collapsed into the river.
"LGED authorities have already conducted a soil test there. The distance from the place where the bridge is supposed to be built is too much," he added.
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