Bamboo in rail bridges, again

Authorities of Bangladesh Railway (BR) are again using bamboo sticks to support track sleepers, this time on two railway bridges on Dhaka-Sylhet-Chittagong route in Kulaura upazila under the district, ignoring the risk of serious accidents.

During visits to the rail bridges on the Fanai and Unfanai rivers yesterday, this correspondent saw that around half of the sleepers were damaged and bamboo sticks were used to prevent displacement of the remaining sleepers.

"We have to examine the rail lines twice a day and fix the damaged parts regularly. We use the bamboos to prevent the sleepers from being displaced," said Abdur Rahman, a railway employee.

Driving trains on the bridges over the Fanai and Unfanai rivers have become very risky, said a train driver seeking anonymity.

Ali Azam, senior sub-assistant engineer of BR in Sreemangal, said they have a maintenance worker who constantly monitors the area.

Contacted, Mujibur Rahman, assistant engineer of Sylhet Railway, claimed that there is not much risk due to use of bamboo sticks in railway tracks.

"Due to the shortage of wood, the damaged sleepers could not be replaced. I will inspect the spots and there are plans to set new sleepers soon," he added.

The railway authorities should identify the risky railway bridges and repair those quickly to avoid serious accidents, said Abdul Karim Kim, convener of Songkhubdo Nagorik Andolon.

Earlier, the authorities did some repair works of Monu Railway Bridge on Dhaka-Sylhet-Chittagong railway in Kulaura upazila, following a report titled 'Flirting with danger' published by The Daily Star on January 4.