Villagers suffer acutely for want of a permanent bridge

SYLHET. Sept 2: The authorities have failed to construct a new bridge on Sadar Bajitpur-Raghurampur canal in Sunamganj even three years after damage of the original bridge there.

The absence of a bridge at the busy public place is causing immense suffering for the thousands of people of at least 20 villages in four unions of Doarabazar upazila of Sunamganj district.

The villagers are forced to use a bamboo-made makeshift bridge at the site for years together.

The 33 metre long bridge constructed in 2001 was damaged in the devastating floods of 2022 putting the inhabitants of the vast area into untold sufferings.

They somehow managed to build a makeshift bridge with bamboo using own fund on a temporary basis, but the authorities have not taken the huge sufferings of the common people into account while the structure has been in a precarious state for long.

Locals alleged that inhabitants of about 20 villages have to use the old bamboo structure amid risks every day. People from at least five important markets and teachers and students from five schools and madrasas have to use it daily.

The five markets include Dohali Bazar, Mojur Bazar, Sripur Baza, Ambarkhana Bazar and Shyamol Bazar.

Their sufferings go extreme especially during rains. Transportation of patients and old people and females is just troublesome. The children often decline to pass through it. The locals have long been demanding that a bridge be built urgently at the site for the public interest, but the authorities have not paid any attention to the matter.

However, an official at the local LGED (Local Government Engineering Department) office said, "A proposal has already been sent to the head office for construction of a bridge. We hope it would get approval soon. Then we will start the construction work."