United News of Bangladesh

Traffic movement has remained suspended for the past nine months after a 45-year-old bridge collapsed in Kumrabaria and Maharajpur areas under Sadar upazila of Jhenaidah, causing severe public suffering. Although the bridge collapsed around nine months ago reconstruction work has yet to begin, said locals. Local people have have built a temporary bamboo footbridge at their own initiative which has now become risky for use. Local Union Parishad Chairman Khurshid Alami Mia said the road connecting Kumrabaria and Maharajpur unions locally known as Bishoykhali GC–Nagarbathaan GC via Defolbari road was constructed about 45 years ago. The bridge over a canal under the Ganges-Kobadak (GK) irrigation project was built by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) in the Bhabanipur-Defolbari area.Kumrabaria Union Parishad Chairman Sirajul Islam said the bridge collapsed in 2025 due to heavy rainfall and strong water currents. “Despite repeated appeals by local representatives to the authorities concerned, no reconstruction work has been undertaken so far, increasing the sufferings of commuters, transport operators and goods carriers.”A recent visit to the area found that the bridge deck has collapsed and now lies in the middle of the canal. A makeshift bamboo footbridge has been installed in its place by local residents but it has already become shaky and unsafe, halting movement of auto-rickshaws, vans and motorcycles. Local resident Rahat Hossain said, “The bridge collapsed nine months ago. We informed various authorities multiple times but no solution has been provided. No one can say when the bridge will be rebuilt. All types of vehicles have stopped using this road.” School student Sumaiya Khatun said they used to cross the bridge daily to attend school. “After it collapsed last year a bamboo bridge was built. Now it is also on the verge of collapse. It feels very risky to cross it, especially with a bicycle. If it breaks down, going to school will become even more difficult,” she added. Truck driver Alfaz Ali said they used the bridge to transport goods between markets in Kumrabaria and Maharajpur unions. “Since the bridge collapsed, movement on this road has stopped, causing immense suffering to transport workers,” he said. Sadar Upazila Executive Engineer Md Abul Kalam Azad said the road is an important link between the two unions and previously had two bridges both of which were very old. “One of the bridges has already been reconstructed. For the collapsed one, we have sent two separate project proposals to the authorities concerned. We hope the project will be approved soon after which construction work will begin,” he added.

Three people were injured when a bailey bridge in Lalmohan upazila of Bhola collapsed with a stone-laden truck and other vehicles on Tuesday. Locals said the Roads and Highways Department is constructing a new girder bridge over a canal in Daori Bazar area of ​​the upazila and a temporary bailey bridge was built next to the under -construction bridge for traffic movement. Also read:Worker killed, 20 others hurt as bridge collapses in Rangamati The bailey bridge collapsed into the canal around 11am when a stone-laden truck and some other vehicles were crossing the bridge, leaving three people, including the truck driver, injured. On information, police and fire fighters conducted a joint operation to salvage truck and other vehicles. Meanwhile, traffic movement on Bhola-Char Fashion road has been suspended due to the collapse of the bridge, forcing people to cross the river by boat. Also read: Barguna: Poorly planned bridges render re-excavated canal unnavigable Md Nazmul Islam, executive engineer of Roads and Highways Department, said the bridge will be repaired by Wednesday. The present width of the 94 km long regional highway from Bhola Sadar upazila to Baburhat of Char Fashion is about 18 feet. It is being widened to 30 feet. For the development of the road, four bridges and 43 culverts are being reconstructed.

A powerful earthquake collapsed at least one coal mine and many flimsy mud houses in southwest Pakistan early Thursday, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 200, an official said. The death toll was expected to rise even further as crews searched in the remote mountainous area, said Suhail Anwar Shaheen, the local deputy commissioner. At least four of the dead were killed when the coal mine in which they were working collapsed, said Shaheen, citing coal miners in the area. As many as 100 homes also collapsed, burying sleeping residents inside. The epicenter of the 5.9 magnitude quake was about 14 kilometers (8 miles) north-northeast of Harnai in Baluchistan province, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The initial measurement of the quake’s strength was 5.7 magnitude. It struck about 20 kilometers (12 miles) below the Earth’s surface; shallower quakes tend to cause more damage. Read: What makes Haiti prone to devastating earthquakes The area, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Quetta, the provincial capital, is dotted with coal mines, which has Shaheen worried the death toll could rise. It struck in the early morning while scores of miners were already at work, he said. Most of the population in the area live in sunbaked mud houses, many of which collapsed. Rescue efforts were underway, but Shaheen said it would take hours just to reach many of the hardest-hit areas. Read: Haiti quake death toll rises to 1,419, injured now at 6,000 Local TV channels showed residents wrapped in blankets sitting on the side of the road waiting for the aftershocks to subside and help to arrive. The area is remote and already the autumn nighttime temperatures are chilly.