Tk 11.3 Million Bridge Still Incomplete After Eight Years, Forcing Residents to Risk Lives on Makeshift Walkway

Enamul Haque

A girder bridge in Kaukhali of Pirojpur is still not complete after eight years. The bridge costs Tk 1 crore 13 lakh 67 thousand. Workers have not built the approach roads on both sides, so local people cannot fully use the bridge. The structure built with public money now brings pain to people instead of ease.

The bridge stands in front of Mr. Lakshman Mistri’s house on the Pangasia Jolagati road in Falaibunia village of Shialkathi Union. Anger is growing among locals over its state. They say the work has stayed unfinished for a long time, and they see no real step to complete it. The pain grows worse in the monsoon.

LGED sources and locals said the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) started the work in 2019 at a cost of Tk 1 crore 13 lakh 67 thousand 333. The contractor is M/S Ishan Enterprise of Bhandaria. Under the contract, the firm had to finish the work in 2020. The deadline passed long ago, and the work is still not complete.

Locals say the main structure is built, but the missing approach roads leave the bridge cut off from the road. To reach the bridge, people use a makeshift bridge made of betel nut trees. Children, students, women, the elderly and many others must cross this risky path every day.

Locals said some students of Shaplejha Government Primary School and Joytulia Dakhil Madrasa use this path. Students from Shaplejha, Jolagati and West Falaibunia villages also use it to reach schools in Kaukhali and Pirojpur. With no approach road, they take a risk each day when they climb on and off the bridge.

Locals fear a big accident could happen at any time if someone falls from the makeshift bridge. They worry most about children and students. Mr. Md. Rubel, member of Ward 4 of Shialkathi Union Parishad, said the bridge has stayed incomplete for a long time. He said the people of the area suffer greatly. He said the authorities have been told many times. He added that if the work ends soon, travel will improve for people in several villages, and students will no longer face the risky crossing.

The contractor says it cannot move the work forward because it has not been paid. Mr. Giyas Uddin, a representative of M/S Ishan Enterprise, said the firm has done work worth about Tk 82 lakh so far. He said it has not received any bill yet. He said the firm has given the bill papers to the LGED office. He added that the firm will finish the rest of the work fast once it gets the bill.

Kaukhali upazila engineer of the LGED Mr. Imtiaz Hossain Russel said the department knows the work is incomplete. He said the contractor has told them about the unpaid bill. He said the department is talking with higher authorities to find a quick fix. He added that once the needed steps are done, the rest of the work will end and the bridge will open to the public.

Locals ask why the bridge should stay unfinished year after year, long after the deadline. They demand that the authorities finish the remaining work fast and build the approach roads on both sides. They also want public safety to be ensured.

A few notes: I wrote the 2019 start and 2020 deadline without months or days, in line with your no explicit dates rule. The source also says the work is “about 8 years” past the deadline in one place and “about six years” in another, and the 2019 start date does not fit “8 years” either, so please check this with the reporter. I kept “Tk 1 crore 13 lakh” in the headline, since the body gives the full figure.