Hundreds of people, including rickshaw vans, cross the damaged bridge although it was not repaired or reconstructed in five years as the authorities of Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) was keeping mum in this regard.
It has been hampering the agriculture activities and educational and other activities in the area.
At least two persons had died and many others injured when they fell down since the bridge became into a death trap. People of surrounding villages arrive their desired markets in alternative way moving additional roads for selling the crops against additional money and time, alleged the locals.
Locals said the BWDB had constructed the bridge on their irrigation canal in Shailkupa upazila about 25 years back. For low quality work, a big hole developed on the northern portion of the bridge and canal fell down in the canal about five years back.
They said hundreds of people of Golaknagar, Nityanandapur, Kakuriadanga, Bhabanipur, Rupdah, Panchpakia and some other surrounding villages use the bridge on Golaknagar-Panchpakia road everyday. The farmers had been carrying their agriculture produces from fields and sale at local markets at a regular basis.
The locals appealed to the BWDB authorities to take steps to repair or
reconstruct the bridge time and again. But it came to no effect yet, villagers said.
The locals said finding no other alternative, the smaller size vehicles like rickshaw vans and bicyclists and the pedestrians including students cross the bridge risking their lives.
Further, the farmers collect crops from the surrounding crop fields and sale the same in the market using additional roads that costs huge expenditure and killing time.
Schoolgirls Manwara, Salam and Chaiti expressed their dissatisfaction over non-repairing the same in five years.
BWDB section officer Bikarna Kumar said the bridge might be reconstructed within a short time as the matter was noticed to higher authorities earlier.
