8 years over, much-needed bridge on Surma yet to be complete
Construction of the 402-metre-long bridge over the River Surma in Sunamganj district town could not be completed even after eight years.
The project, taken up in fiscal year 2005-2006 at a cost of Tk 23 crore, was scheduled to be completed in three years. On completion of 50 per cent work, the project was dropped mysteriously from the Annual Development Programme (ADP) in 2012.
Officials could not say the reason but locals alleged that the project was dropped for political reasons.
As locals raised the demand for completion of bridge construction works, the then additional chief engineer of Roads & Highways Department of Sylhet zone drew the attention of the higher authority and stressed the need for finishing the completion of the much-desired bridge.
Accordingly, the authorities concerned redesigned the project worth Tk 67 crore with a target to completing the construction work by June 2013, officials said. But the construction of the bridge and its approach roads again slowed down due to delay in fund placement and contractors' apathy.
However, the R & H Executive Engineer Md Anwarul Amin said the construction work is almost complete and hopefully, it will be ready for traffic by June 2015.
The middle span of the bridge (steel truss) is being imported from China. It is scheduled to reach in November-December this year, he added.
Asked about the delay, Iftekhar Kabir, additional chief engineer of R&H, Sylhet zone, said the project remained suspended for years. However, we are now trying our best to complete the works by March 2015, he added.
Four upazilas of Sunamganj--Biswambharpur, Tahirpur, Madhyanagar and Jamalganj-have no direct road link with the district headquarters. This bridge will create direct road link between the district town and the upazilas.
Comments