Villagers suffer as bridge lies broken for 3 years

Hundreds of people have been suffering since a portion of the bridge on a canal connecting to the Sumeswari river in Netrakona's Durgapur upazila collapsed over three years ago.

Especially school children and elderly people are the worst sufferers due to the communication problem, said Shahinoor Alam Saju, chairman of local Durgapur Sadar union parishad (UP).

Due to collapse of the bridge, bordering villages --Bhawanipur and Narapara-- are virtually disconnected from the upazila headquarters, said locals.

The onrush of hilly water damaged the bridge in 2016 but it is yet to be repaired, they said. 

Aminul Haque, headmaster of Uttar Farongpara Government Primary School, said there are some 150 students in the school. It is difficult for them to reach the school, especially in the rainy season.

As the school kids have to cross the canal on country boat amid risk of accident, students' attendance in the institution has thin during monsoon, said the headmaster.

Kartik Chisim, a farmer of Bhawanipur village, said they have to face various problems to bring their goods to the markets of the upazila headquarters since the bridge became unfit to use about three years ago.

Abdul Alim Liton, upazila engineer of Local Government and Engineering Department (LGED), said they have already got a fund of Tk 5 lakh from local upazila parishad to repair the broken portion of the bridge.

But in April last year, they wrote to the higher authorities to construct an 80-feet-long concrete bridge there but no respond yet to come, said the LGED engineer.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Farjana Khanam said she visited the site on various occasions.

She has already informed the higher authorities about the matter, said the UNO.