TITAS, Bangladesh — More than 100,000 residents of 40 villages in Cumilla’s Titas upazila are crossing the Gumti river by motorized boat after a temporary bridge collapsed in floods and has not been rebuilt, residents said.
The bridge stood next to a permanent bridge under construction at Asmaniya bazar over the Gumti river. With the temporary structure gone, teachers, students and traders from villages on both banks are forced to risk daily river crossings on motorized boats.
A 75-meter bridge is being built at the Asmaniya bazar site on the 15-kilometer road from the Raipur bus stand of Daudkandi on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway to Batakandi bazar in Titas, at a cost of 10.77 crore taka (about $9 million).
An 80-meter temporary bridge had been built alongside the construction site for residents on both banks. It first collapsed on May 29 last year when struck by a sand-carrying bulkhead vessel. The bulkhead owners helped rebuild a temporary bridge, but the wooden replacement was washed away a second time on Aug. 21 last year in strong floodwaters.
As a result, teachers, students, traders and people from all walks of life on both banks of the river are facing severe hardship. They are temporarily using motorized boats, locally known as trawlers, to cross the river.
Residents said the Asmaniya bazar, one of the largest markets in the upazila, is on the southeast bank of the river. People from villages on the northwest bank cross daily to do business at the market. Those on the southeast bank cross to reach the upazila headquarters. The market also serves residents of neighboring upazilas.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report