The government has taken up a project to construct around 13,000 bridges and culverts in rural areas across the country. The project aims at reducing waterlogging problem and improving road network by constructing bridges and culverts on the gaps of earthen village roads. By connecting local marketplaces, growth centres, educational institutions and union parishads with roads constructed under Food for Works/ Employment Generation
Programme for the Poorest (EGPP) programmes, these bridges and culverts are also expected to ease transportation and marketing of agricultural goods, reduce disaster risks, and above all improve socio-economic condition in rural areas by reducing rural poverty. According to project details, the bridges and culverts will be constructed in 492 upazilas across the country and the timeframe of the project is 3 years 6 months – from January 2019 to June 2022.
Each bridge and culvert will be 15 metres in length, meaning the total length of 13,000 bridges and culverts will be 1, 56,000 metres.
The estimated cost of the scheme is Tk 6,578.2 crore, which will come from the government exchequer. The Disaster Management Department under the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief is implementing the project. The government expects this project will help implement the government’s priority programme ‘My Village My Town’ through which it wants to reach all modern civic amenities to every village in the country.
Mentionable, the incumbent government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has attached utmost priority to the development of rural economy in order to accelerate the country’s ongoing development process and make it sustainable. In line with its plan, the government has undertaken various pro-village programmes like ‘My Village My Town’ and ‘Amar Bari Amar Khamar’ to improve the lives and livelihoods of rural people.
