Single boat only means
Passengers pull the rope tied to the water transport to cross the Jalbhurunga river
A single boat is the only means of communication for thousands of villagers in Gouripur upazila of the district.
The boat without boatman is tied to a long rope that the passengers themselves pull to cross the Jalbhurunga river to go to their destinations.
The people, including students, of Gopinathpur, Khalijury, Kamarjani, Silimpur and Dulapatuli villages in Achintapur union are mainly the passengers.
Headmaster of Bhalukapur Government Primary School Mohammad Abdullah said there are around 300 students in the school and at least 100 of them have to attend classes by crossing the river.
Headmaster of Bhalukapur High School Paban Chandra Dhar said the school has around 500 students and about 50 percent, mostly girls, come from the other side of the river.
The students have to face serious difficulties during the rainy season and some have fallen off the boat at different times, he added.
Five people drowned and a ninth grade female student was seriously injured in a boat capsize last year and she had to be admitted to a hospital, Paban said.
“The school was established in 1967 and I joined it 23 years ago. The problem has been continuing for decades,” he added.
Taslima Akhter, a ninth grader from Khalijury village, said they have to suffer all the year round and it becomes much worse in the rainy season.
“We have to wait for a long time to cross the river and many times our books and dresses get drenched,” said eighth grader Rekha Akhter.
Upazila Secondary Education Officer Md Saiful Islam said he visited the school on different occasions and requested the department concerned to solve the problems faced by hundreds of students.
Sahonati Union Chairman Md Abdul Mannan said allocation for a bridge is under process and the tender might be floated within a month. The decades-old misery of the people will be removed at last, hoped Mannan, also local Awami League leader.
Gouripur Upazila Nirbahi Officer Marjina Akhter said she was informed about the problem and Gouripur lawmaker Nazim Uddin Ahmed visited the spot. A project for a bridge has already been submitted to the department concerned, she added.