Dreams of some three lakh people in Kachua and Matlab Dakkhin upazilas of Chandpur district are finally coming true following the opening of a 42-meter long bridge over Boaljhuri canal. Socio-economic life in the locality will see a major change through the inauguration of the bridge. Read : 6-year-old girl dies as dengue cases rise in Kushtia The two upazilas — Matlab Dakkhin and Kachua — are separated by the Boaljhuri canal and people of the two upazilas had to cross the canal through boats. To mitigate the suffering of the people of two upazilas, local lawmakers took an initiative to build a bridge in an effort to ease communication. Once the bridge is opened, the social and economic lifestyle of Prashannacup, Banglabazar villages in Kachua bordering area and Kalikapur, Chartbhanga, Kashimpur villages under Matlab Dakkhin upazila will be changed. People can easily go to the district headquarters in a short period of time and at low cost. A Alim, upazila engineer of Local Government and Engineering Department (LGED), said they have completed the construction work of 42-meter concrete bridge over the Boaljhuri canal, at a cost of Tk 2.55 crore, financed by the government, and it will be opened on September 12. Read : Bodies of couple recovered in Chandpur Former minister and MP of Kachua constituency Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir will inaugurate the bridge, he said. The construction work of the bridge started in the 2020-21 fiscal year but it was delayed due to the pandemic. Approach roads have been built on both sides of the bridge, said A Alim. During a recent visit to the bridge area, the UNB correspondent saw that the painting of the bridge is underway. A number of stalls offering fuchka, coffee and tea were set up near the bridge while the construction of many shops is underway on both sides of the river. People were seen roaming around the bridge before the opening ceremony. Read : Bangladeshi cattle trader shot dead ‘by BSF ,along Panchagarh border Locals Abul Hossain, Shafique Patwari, said they had suffered a lot due to the absence of a bridge over the canal. The commute to the district headquarters used to be long. The bridge will help boost trade and income in the two upazilas, they believe. Teachers of Matlab Dakkhin Kalikapur High School said they had to cross the canal by boat to go to the school but now students and teachers can easily go to the school in a short time using the bridge.

Gobindganj-Dasghar road in Sunamganj’s Chatak upazila has gone into the gorge of the Boterkhola River due to severe erosion, leading to the complete halt of vehicular movement on the road. A portion of the 500 feet concrete road collapsed into the river in the Singua area of Gobindganj Saider Gao Union last week. Read: Chandpur town protection embankment faces erosion threat again The road served as the lone means of movement of the residents in 50 villages of the upazila, and it has caused immense sufferings to them. The affected villages include Krinchnagar, Harinagar, Shyamnagar, Govindanagar, Nakhrakali, Malikandi, Dasghar, Lakshipur, Bindpur, Barachal, Khalagao, Bhugli, Banarshi, Bagin, Dakshin Para, Uttara Para, Chhaila, Shiran, Alampur, Banglabazar, Digalbak, Nowapara, Srinagar, Kahalla, Auli and others. Read more: Barguna’s Betagi town protection embankment threatened by river erosion amid ‘authorities’ apathy’

For the 20,000-odd residents of Kalakopa village, life is a balancing act, literally. This is because a makeshift bamboo bridge over the Bhulua river in the remote hamlet is their sole means of communication. In fact, crossing the river to civilisation has been a pain for the residents of Kalakopa in Ramgati upazila of Laxmipur district for decades. For the past 30 years, they petitioned their local authorities for a concrete bridge only to go unheeded.

The bridge protection dam of Sheikh Russel Kushtia-Haripur Link Bridge is on the brink of collapse, just three years after construction, thanks to the negligence of the local administration.

The engineer and manager of an LGED project were beaten up for declining to pay money reportedly demanded by two brothers at Hatibandha in Lalmonirhat on Thursday. 

Thousands of people of three upazilas of Sunamganj district have been suffering a lot as Kathir-Jaynagar road in Sadar upazila has become dilapidated and unfit for movement.   Although  renovation work was carried out on Kathir-Jaynagar road just a year ago some big potholes have been developed  in many parts of the road, making tit unfit for use.   According to the sources at Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), the government  allocated Tk 78 lakh for the renovation work of the11 kilometer road stretching from Hossainnagar-Joynagar bazar, a portion of Madanpur-Jamalganj road in the fiscal year 2017-2018.   Two contractor firms--‘Mahbub Enterprise’ and ‘JR Enterprise’ got the task of the renovation work of the road.   But after one year of the repair work, the road stretching from Hossainnagar to Sardarpur point has turned  dilapidated, causing immense sufferings to locals.   Several thousand people of three upazilas ---Jamalganj, South Sunamganj and Sadar upazilas--- use  the road for going to the district headquarters and other divisional cities including Sylhet.   Local people alleged that the road has become risky for movement due to use of substandard materials during the renovation work.   Abu Talib Al Murad, a resident of Barma Uttar vilalge in Mohonpur union, said, “Though the government allocated money for the repair work of the road on regular basis but to no use.”   Saju Talukdar, a resident of Mohonpur village, said “We  requested the authorities concerned to repair the work following the government rules but they did not pay any heed to our request.”   Director of the contractor firm, ‘JR Enterprise’ Mohamamd Ripon, said, “We had to count loss while doing the repair work of the road. Though our contract time had expired but we filled up the potholes created on the road.”   Anwar Hossain, engineer of Local Government Division, Sadar upazila, said, “We have given a proposal for the renovation of the road under  a big project. Besides, we also sent a letter to the contractor firm concerned to repair the dilapidated parts of the road.”   Contacted, Executive engineer of Sunamganj Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), said necessary steps will be taken soon.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) and Department of Disaster Management (DDM) in a bid to strengthen the existing flood forecasting and warning system under a project financed by International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Works of development projects are being hampered because of sand crisis as there is no fixed sand quarry (Balu Mahal) in Kurigram, government officials say.   A proposal from Rajarhat upazila administration for setting up nine sand quarries is yet to be approved by the government.   Sources say sand traders have long been lifting and selling sand illegally from different places in Rajarhat upazila using about 50 dredgers.   Rajarhat Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Jubayer Hossain confiscated and burned some of the dredgers during drives. Sand lifting remained suspended for a month which triggered sand crisis in the upazila.   According to the upazila Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) office, the ongoing development projects are - construction of 2,250-metre road at a cost of Tk 1.72 crore, 3,244-metre road for Tk 2.44 crore in Rajarhat union, work of 1,372-metre road at Tk 86.82 lakh, work of 1,028-metre road for Tk 67.38 lakh, work of 1,327-metre road at Tk 86.82lakh in Gharialdanga union, work of 100-metre road at a cost of Tk 62.18 lakh in Chhinai union, work 1,462-metre road in Rajmallir hat of Umar Majid union, work of 1,068-metre road from Milerpar to Bidhyananda in Chakirposhar union and work of 1,500 metre road at a cost of Tk 1.6 crore from Kalirhat to Bijlir bazar in Bidyananda union.   Besides, different road construction projects at a cost of around Tk 50 crore under the Rural Road and Culvert Maintenance Programme, Important Rural Infrastructure Development on priority Basis (IRIDP) and Rural development project (RDP) of LGED are also underway.   Amid sand crisis, works of several roads have been kept suspended.   Abu Taher Md Safi Babu, an engineer of upazila LGED, said development works of different areas of the upazila has been put on hold due to sand crisis.   According to upazila administration office source, a proposal was sent to the concerned ministry through the district administration for setting up sand quarries at Juykumar of Chhinai union, Sarishabari of Gharialdanga union, Pathanhat and Shiber Dah of Chakirposhar union, Chotura and Kalirhat of Bidyananda union, and Somnarayan and Thutapaikor of Nazimkhan union. Till now, the proposal has not been approved.   Rajarhat Upazila Chairman Zahid Iqbal Suhrawardy said setting up the sand quarries will solve the sand crisis and help resume works of the development projects.