<i>Sorrow of two Patuakhali upazilas</i>

A passenger bus gets stuck while crossing dangerously risky Shoula bridge on Patuakhali-Baufal-Dashmina road during low tide a few days ago. With rise of water level due to tidal surge, communications between Patuakhali district headquarters and Baufal and Dashmina upazilas remain cut, much to the sufferings of about six lakh people. Photo: STAR

Communications between district headquarters and two upazilas remained cut off for the last five days as a bridge went under water due to tidal surge.
About six lakh people of Baufal and Dashmina upazilas are suffering a lot as water level in the rivers soared because of full moon.
Vehicular movement has come to a halt for five days from May 26 on Patuakhali-Dashmina via Baufal road as the bridge over Shoula canal on the road went under water.
Since cyclone 'Aila', vehicles ply to and from the district headquarters depending on high and low tide as the bridge often go under 6-7 feet water, locals said.
During high tide vehicles cannot cross the bridge but at the time of low tide vehicles move with life risk. During tidal surge, the bridge goes 6-7 feet down from road level.
Communications will resume in a day or two with the fall in when water level in the Patuakhali river, people of the area said.
However, passengers now have to take bus or others vehicles from east side of the bridge about 6 kilometres off the district headquarters.
Earlier several hundred locals formed human chains on February 28 and May 6 this year demanding reconstruction of the bridge but to no effect.
Local Government and Engineering Department (LGED) built the road to make communications easier between Dashmina and Baufal upazilas and the district headquarters.
Golam Maula Dulu, secretary of Patuakhali Bus Owners Association said people are suffering a lot as people cannot avail buses because of the bridge condition.
Contacted, SM Abdus Salam, executive engineer at Patuakhali LGED said that a project to rebuild the bridge at a cost of Tk 1.80 crore was approved on March 2.
"We already have selected a contractor but we couldn't start work for lack of fund," he said.