The stalled construction of a bridge over the 'Dead Teesta River' in Kaunia upazila of Rangpur has left the residents of five remote char villages facing severe hardship, cut off from key services and facilities for years.
Despite the completion of its pillar work four years ago, no further progress has been made on the 76-metre bridge at Masterpara in Dakkhin Thakurdas area, as the funding issues continue to cripple the project.
Locals from Char Chatura, Mayar Char, Char Uttar Thakurdas, Char Pallimari and Char Najirdah villages rely on this route to access Banglabazar, the upazila headquarters and Haragachh municipality.
With the bridge remained incomplete, their daily lives remain disrupted.
The Haragachh municipality initiated the construction under the government’s development budget with plans to complete it in phases.
In 2019, Messrs Mamun Construction was awarded the first contract, worth Tk 36 lakh, to build part of the bridge.
The contractor managed to finish approximately 80 percent of the assigned work before suspending construction in 2020.
Later that year, in November, another contractor, Nur Islam Enterprise, was tasked with completing the slabs, beams and railings under a second tender valued at Tk 29 lakh.
But, the firm halted its operations after finishing only about half the work in 2021, again citing funding issues.
“There was no structural design for the bridge and the allocated funds didn’t match the actual estimated cost.
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Besides, the municipality created significant difficulties in releasing payments,” said Nur Alam Lablu, owner of Nur Islam Enterprise.
“That’s why we suspended work after completing half the project,” he said.
When the UNB correspondent visited the site, the bridge’s pillars stood abandoned in the dry riverbed.
Locals confirmed that work has remained suspended for the past four years.
During the monsoon, residents are forced to cross the river using banana rafts or small boats, while in the dry season, they trudge through knee-deep mud—posing risks and inconvenience.
Kajal Ahmed, a resident of Thakurdas, said, “People from the char areas have long demanded a bridge over the 'Dead Teesta.' Though construction started, it was never finished. Students now cross the river using rafts or small boats, risking their lives.”
Transporting agricultural goods has also become a pressing challenge.
“If someone falls sick, it becomes nearly impossible to take them to the hospital on time,” said Mahabul Islam of Shankharipara village on the north side of the river.
Sumaiya Akhter, a fourth-grader at Shankharipara Government Primary School, shared her struggles, “Sometimes we cross the river on banana rafts. If we fall into the water, our books and clothes get soaked and we can’t go to school that day.”
Assistant Engineer of Haragachh Municipality, Md Hamidur Rahman, said the bridge is being constructed in phases using funds from the development budget.
“So far, the pillars, pier caps and abutments have been completed," he said.
He estimated that completing the bridge would require an additional Tk 1.2 crore to cover 10 more slabs, railings and around 120 metres of approach road on both sides.
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“We have approached the authorities in Dhaka for funding. Once allocated, the remaining work will be completed through new tenders,” he said.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer and Haragachh Municipality Administrator Md Mohidul Haque said, “I have just taken charge. I will look into the issue of the bridge construction and share details once I gather more information.”
As the bridge continues to remain in limbo, the people of these char villages can only hope for swift intervention to bring an end to years of isolation and struggle.
About 'Dead Teesta'
On July 26 in 2021, after almost two hundred years the ‘Dead Teesta River,’ a distributary of the main ‘Teesta River,’ has emerged and it had no existence a little while ago. Over time, the river had transformed into fertile land in some places, grazing land in others, and in some areas, it had taken the form of ponds.
The river has been connected to the main channels of the Chikli and Jamuneswari rivers. After the revival, this river has been filled with water during the current monsoon season.