Phulbaria upazila in Mymensingh: Decades on, locals still depend on wooden bridges
For decades, hundreds of people have been using three wooden bridges over the Banar river in Mymensingh's Phulbaria upazila.The bridges, managed by the local union parishad, require maintenance every year, costing around Tk 5 lakh. They are located at Anuhadi Akta, Babuganj Bazar Khalpar, and Ustorhazir Ghat in the Horipur area.Md Rafiqul Islam Chowdhury, chairman of Rangamatia Union Parishad, said, "Once there were bamboo bridges on the river. Later, those were replaced by wooden ones as bamboo...
For decades, hundreds of people have been using three wooden bridges over the Banar river in Mymensingh's Phulbaria upazila.
The bridges, managed by the local union parishad, require maintenance every year, costing around Tk 5 lakh. They are located at Anuhadi Akta, Babuganj Bazar Khalpar, and Ustorhazir Ghat in the Horipur area.
Md Rafiqul Islam Chowdhury, chairman of Rangamatia Union Parishad, said, "Once there were bamboo bridges on the river. Later, those were replaced by wooden ones as bamboo bridges became risky during the monsoon."
Officials of the Local Government Engineering Department surveyed the areas on several occasions, raising hopes among residents that their demands for concrete bridges would be met, but no action has yet been taken, he said.
There are around 15 educational institutions on both sides of the river, and about 1,000 students cross the bridges daily.
Abdul Kader Mondol, a member of the parishad, said people from about 15 villages in three unions -- Rangamatia, Kaladah, and Naugaon -- use the bridges regularly.
The upazila headquarters is about 17 kilometres from the bridges, but the journey takes over an hour, said Md Farhad Hossain, a primary school teacher.
He said students suffer greatly during the rainy season.
Contacted, Mahbub Hasan, sub-assistant engineer of LGED in Phulbaria, said, "We sent proposals for five bridges last year, but no approval has been obtained yet."