Construction of the long-awaited Bangalpara-Chatalpar bridge over the Meghna river in Kishoreganj’s Ashtagram has remained completely stalled for a long time. The cost of building this one-kilometer “dream bridge” was set at roughly Tk 178 crore. But the contracting firm has disappeared, leaving a large portion of the project incomplete. As a result, the long-standing hope of a huge population in the haor region for better connectivity has now turned into boundless suffering and disappointment.
The bridge is meant to be built over the Meghna river, from the Noagaon area of Bangalpara union in Ashtagram upazila to Durgapur in Chatalpar union of Brahmanbaria district. Because the haor region takes on two very different forms in the monsoon and dry seasons, ensuring smooth communication year-round is difficult. If completed, this bridge would open a new horizon of direct, year-round road connectivity from Ashtagram, Itna and Mithamain, via Brahmanbaria, to important districts across the country, including Dhaka, Sylhet and Chattogram.
It may be noted that, after approval from the cabinet committee on government procurement, contracting firm Tama Construction won the contract for this massive Tk 178 crore undertaking. At the start of the project, local former MP Rezwan Ahmed Toufique visited the project site and pledged to see the work completed quickly.
Although work initially progressed at a rapid pace, the project fell into stagnation after the country’s political landscape changed and the contracting firm’s owner, Manik Mia, went into hiding.
At one point, progress on the work came to a complete halt, and the contracting firm began quietly leaving the site, packing up all its equipment and materials. Only a few incomplete pillars of the bridge now stand in the middle of the river, serving as a monument to the haor residents’ shattered dream.
As a result, trawlers or boats remain the only option for crossing the turbulent Meghna during the monsoon. Even in the dry season, ordinary people, students and critically ill patients must endure extreme hardship crossing by ferry. As a result, the haor residents’ dream of uninterrupted road connectivity with the rest of the country remains out of reach.
Had the bridge been completed, it was hoped it would bring major change to trade and the economy in the haor region. Local residents say this bridge is not merely a link between two districts — it is a long-cherished dream of the entire haor population. Once completed, they say, it would allow the region’s agricultural produce to easily reach markets nationwide, expand trade and commerce, and bring unprecedented change to the tourism sector as well.
Confirming the matter, Ashtagram upazila engineer Mozammel Haque told reporters that the contracting firm breached its contract and left the work incomplete. The matter has already been reported to higher authorities. A process has now begun to invite fresh tenders to complete the unfinished work. The upazila engineering department hopes that, once all administrative approvals are completed quickly, construction can resume.
Meanwhile, conscious citizens and affected residents of the haor region are demanding firm intervention from the relevant government authorities to complete the new tender process quickly and resume the work.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report