CUMILLA — Residents of Golaper Char village in Cumilla’s Daudkandi upazila are using bamboo poles to hold up a failing 30-year-old bridge that carries about 12,000 people daily, raising fears of a major accident, locals said.
The 30-foot bridge, built by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), has been deteriorating as soil washes away from its pillars and parts of the structure sink. With no repair or reconstruction underway, locals fear a major accident at any time.
The bridge in Ward 2 of Daudkandi Sadar Uttar union is the main route to the upazila headquarters for villagers in Golaper Char and several neighboring villages in adjoining Meghna upazila.
Local sources said the 30-foot-long, 10-foot-wide bridge was built about 30 years ago under LGED. The lower section has sunk and soil around the pillars has eroded, leaving the structure unstable.
Some 10,000 to 12,000 people cross the bridge each day, most of them in auto-rickshaws and motorized vehicles.
Local auto driver Rabiul Hossain said the soil around the pillars has eroded and the lower pillars have sunk, leaving the bridge shaky. “An accident could happen at any time,” he said. “We have put up bamboo poles on our own initiative. When we reach the bridge, passengers have to get out and walk across.”
Litton Sarker, a local union parishad member, said the dilapidated bridge could collapse at any time. “This is the main route to our upazila,” he said.
Nazmul Haque Sarker, acting chairman of Daudkandi Sadar Uttar union, said the Golaper Char bridge is one of the union’s most important pieces of infrastructure. “I understand people’s hardship — I am a victim myself,” he said. “After inspecting the bridge, we have written to the upazila engineering department several times for repairs. We want a lasting solution. Not just repairs — we have proposed building a new bridge.”
Daudkandi upazila engineer Jahidul Hasan said a new proposal has been sent to the department to build the bridge.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report