Residents in ten villages of Dasar, Madaripur endure daily hardship, forced to risk their lives crossing a canal without a concrete bridge. With no alternative, they rely on a bamboo bridge, facing danger and suffering every time they travel.
Locals said there was once a wooden bridge at Shashikar Choumuhani in Nabogram union, used by thousands from the north and south banks of the canal. Though not suitable for heavy traffic, small and medium vehicles could cross it.
A few years ago, the bridge collapsed completely in a storm and under the canal’s strong current. Following this, locals built a bamboo bridge to facilitate movement.
Now ordinary people including patients, school and college students, farmers and officegoers cross the canal using that bamboo bridge at the risk of their lives. During the monsoon season, the bridge becomes even more hazardous due to the strong current, leading to frequent accidents.
Nabogram Union Parishad Chairman Dulal Talukdar said, “There was a bridge made of a combination of old iron and wood, funded by the Upazila Parishad. A few years ago, the bridge collapsed due to a storm and strong currents. Thousands of people travel through this route from Mostafapur in Madaripur to Poyshar Hat in Gopalganj.”
He added, “People from ten villages use it. Now they have to travel using a bamboo bridge at great risk. I have been repeatedly informing the higher authorities about the construction of a bridge. If the bridge is built quickly, public suffering will be reduced.”
Dasar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Jakiya Sultana said, “We have sent the list of bridges, along with the MP’s DO letter, to the relevant ministry as an emergency message for the swift construction of the bridge. I hope the construction of the bridge can begin at the start of the next fiscal year.”
