Steel made bridge on river Kumar at Garaganj point in Shailkupa upazila of Jhenaidah has become risky for traffic movement as the structure has been damaged due to lack of maintenance.
A number of platforms of the bridge have been damaged while nuts and bolts have got broken in places.
Thousands of people and many vehicles are using the bridge every day for crossing the river, risking their lives.
Minor and major accidents are taking place regularly on the bridge due to its dilapidated condition.
The authorities of local government engineering department (LGED) in Jhenaidah said they have no plan to construct any metal bridge at this moment.
Locals said the roads and highways (R&H) department in 1995 had constructed the 112-metre long steel made bridge at Garaganj point to ease the troubles of local people in Jhenaidah and neighbouring Kumarkhali of Kushtia district as hundreds of minor vehicles, thousands of people on foot and three-wheelers cross the bridge every day.
A large number of students also go to a number of educational institutions in both Jhenaidah and Kushtia districts using the bridge.
The farmers carry their foodgrains for selling them in the markets. But most of the activities have come to a halt as the bridge is almost unusable for months. Now the LGED has been maintaining the said bridge.
Farmer Mahiuddin Ahmed of Achintapur village in Shailkupa upazila said they are the worst victims as they have to travel additional roads to go to their desired destinations with agricultural commodities due to the damaged bridge for months. It has been increasing the production cost of the produces.
The farmer said the LGED authorities sometimes repair the damaged bridge anyway which was not any solution to the problem. If they can construct a metal bridge at the same point on the river, thousands of people of both Jhenaidah and Kushtia districts will benefit from it.
When contacted, executive engineer of the LGED in Jhenaidah Manwar Uddin said they do not have any option to construct any metal bridge with government money. Instead, they are trying to repair the bridge to make it operative for traffic movement as early as they could, Manwar Uddin said.
