Bridge without approach road

A bridge without approach road has been constructed over a canal at BS Dangi village under Charbhadrasan upazila.

The Ministry of Relief and Rehabilitation built the 40-foot-long and 14-foot wide bridge at a cost of Tk 30 lakh in 2016-2017 fiscal year for allegedly giving benefit to two relatives of a ruling party leader.

This correspondent recently found that there are only two houses on the southern side of the bridge and Faridpur-Charbhadrasan road is on its northern side. But there is no approach road on the southern side.

Locals said the bridge was constructed near the house of Kader Mir and Samad Mir, uncles of Anwar Mollah. Anwar is a former joint general secretary of Charbhadrasan upazila unit of Awami League (AL) and a supporter of lawmaker Mujibur Rahman Chowdhury.

They said if the bridge was built in  Haliport area around 180 families would have benefitted.

“The bridge was not allotted for Haliport area. It was allotted for a place 200 metres east of the present site, but it was not constructed there as the local people refused to sell their land,” Anwar said.

He said Kader Mir and Samad Mir were his uncles, but the bridge was not built for this reason.

“There was a road on the south side of the bridge, but it was washed away by the flood last year. Around 150 families will be benefitted by this bridge,” said Manosh Bose, Project Implementation Officer in Charbhadrasan.

Manosh said lawmaker Mujibur and Charbhadrasan Upazila Parishad Chariman Badal Amin recommended the place for construction of the bridge.

“I recommended the site considering the future. There are only two families now there, but in future there will be hundreds of families. Anwar and I are not the only ones who chose the place, other people of our area also did so,” said Badal Amin.

He said they would build a culvert in Haliport area as the local people demanded it.