The river Punorvoba lies in the east of Daptaripara under Dinajpur Municipality and the Gonir Mor in the West of Birol Upazila. Two railway bridges are seen on the river at a short distance. One bridge is lying abandoned and train is running on another newly constructed bridge.
By reshaping and repairing the abandoned railway bridge as a road bridge and connecting it with roads of the Bijora and Palashbari unions of Birol upazila to Dinajpur sadar would benefit the people of both areas in many ways. The road over the reshaped and repaired bridge would facilitate the people of both Birol and Dinajpur to carry their agricultural produces and accelerate trade and business. The road will also help the movement of the students of schools and colleges easy and greatly benefit the movement of ambulances to carry patients.
Khairul Islam Khokon, chairman of Palashbari Union, Amjad Hossain, chairman of Bijora Union and noted social workers Hussain Nur Jaman and Alhaj Asadullah said, nearly 200,000 people live in two unions. The people of these unions have to traverse about two and a half kilometres to reach Dinjapur Municipal Town. The transport costs also increase to carry agricultural produces from the unions to the town. If the abandoned bridge is repaired and linked with the road, it will benefit the people tremendously.
Residents of Daptaripara of Dinajpur Municipality including valiant freedom fighter Based Khalasi, Alhaj Nuruddin, Sheikh Dulu and Dr Asdaullah informed this correspondent that during the flood of 1987, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Begum Sajeda Chowdhury and late M Abdur Rahim, father of Member of Parliament of Dinajpur sadar, Whip Iqbalur Rahim had visited the railway bridge adjacent to Daptaripara. Before the 12th Parliamentary Elections, Minister of State for Shipping in a meeting with the local people at Gonir Mor area had pledged to repair the abandoned bridge for the development of the area and the benefit of the people. People of Dinajpur and the Birol upazila have appealed to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Railway Minister Zillul Hakim, State Minister for Shipping Minister Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, Whip of JS Iqbalur Rahim to take measures to repair the abandoned bridge to accelerate the development of the areas and to ease the communication problem of the people.
