Flirting with danger
The Monu Railway Bridge in Kulaura upazila on Dhaka-Sylhet railway line has become risky for train movement as around 50 percent of its wooden sleepers have been damaged.
But instead of replacing those, the autorities concerned are using pieces of bamboo for holding together the worn-out wooden sleepers.
According to the railway authorities, there are 208 wooden sleepers on the bridge.
Nazmul Haque, a train driver from Kulaura, said when the train was moving, it was not possible to monitor the railway track. Train might derail anytime due to the poor condition of the bridge.
Abdul Karim Kim, convener of Songkhubdo Nagorik Andolon in Sylhet, said the railway bridge has become unsafe for train movement as many wooden sleepers have been damaged.
He called upon the railway authorities to repair the bridge immediately to avoid any accidents.
Ali Azam, senior deputy assistant engineer of Sreemangal Railway Station, said they were worried about the condiition of Monu Railway Bridge. They appointed a permanent maintenance staff for monitoring the bridge.
Abdur Rahman, maintenance staff of the bridge, said if they found any fault on the bridge, they repaired it.
Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, Mujibur Rahman, assistant executive engineer of Bangladesh Railway in Sylhet division, said they could not replace the damaged wooden sleepers as there was a shortage of wooden sleepers.
He said they had informed the higher authorities about the matter, but did not get any response from them in this regard yet.
He, however, claimed that there was no risk of train movement on the bridge.
Comments