Wide gaps at Maulana Bhashani Bridge death traps for pedestrians

GAIBANDHA, Oct 20: Wide gaps at 64 points between the railings of Maulana Bhashani Bridge and loadshedding in the nights made the infrastructure risky for pedestrians, especially children and the elderly.
The bridge was inaugurated on August 20 this year and since then it has been a tourist attraction where many come to visit every day with their families.
The bridge has footpaths of about three and a half feet wide on both sides. Pedestrians say that while walking on the sidewalks a child or an elderly person can easily fall into the Teesta River through the 15-18 inches gaps between the railings, if they are not careful enough.
Alamgir Hossain, who came to see the bridge from Bogra, said, "I can't let go of my daughter's hand when I come to see the bridge. If she falls through that gap by a slight mistake, then it's over!"
Nargis Begum, a housewife from Chilmari, Kurigram, said, "The gaps are scary to think of. You can see them during the day, but at night, when there is no electricity, it's completely dark."
Shirin Akhter, a resident of Sundarganj Municipality, expressed her anger and said, "If the empty spaces next to the railing are not closed, accidents can happen at any time." Mentioning that children will not realise the danger, she said that without electricity, the bridge becomes even more risky. "We are always in fear."
Sundarganj Upazila Engineer Tapan Chandra Chakraborty said everyone has to be aware when walking on the road.
Sundarganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Raj Kumar Biswas said, "The issue is very important. Whether the empty spaces can be closed or not is being looked into seriously."
The 490 metres long and 9.6 meters wide bridge, connecting Gaibandha's Sundarganj to Kurigram's Chilmari was built at a cost of Tk 9.25 billion by the Local Government Engineering department, with funds from the government, Saudi Fund for Development, and OPEC Fund for International Development.
Mentioning that there has been some delay in maintaining the beauty of the bridge, Gaibandha LGED Executive Engineer Ujjal Chowdhury said people's lives come first and steps will be taken to strengthen its safety soon.

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