A bridge built at a cost of Tk 120 crore over the Dhopaghata canal on the entryway from Jhenaidah central bus terminal into the town remains shrouded in darkness at night.
Although vehicles and pedestrians have been using the bridge for 4 years, the 150-metre-wide structure has no functioning lighting system.
Only 2 lamp posts were installed at both ends by municipality, leaving the entire middle section without any lights making the bridge pitch dark from evening until dawn.
The Dhopaghata bridge serves as the main gateway for vehicles entering the town from the eastern part of the district. After 9pm, most long-distance vehicles from Chuadanga, Meherpur, Jibannagar, Kaliganj, Kotchandpur, and Maheshpur including those returning from Dhaka use this route.
According to official information, the bridge was constructed under the Western Bangladesh Bridge Improvement Project (WBBIP) with financial support from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under the PW-3 project.
The contractor firm Monika Limited implemented the project. Construction began in 2017 and was completed in 2019. Jhenaidah Roads and Highways Department received official handover of the bridge on 19 January, 2021.
Taru Mia, a businessman from the Modern Mor area of the town, said, “Long-distance buses and transport vehicles from Chuadanga, Meherpur, Maheshpur, Kotchandpur, and Kaliganj use this road at night. Since the bridge remains dark, accidents occur frequently. Sometimes easybikes, motorcycles, rickshaws, vans, and even pedestrians get into accidents.”
Rickshaw-puller Sadimul Islam said, “Because there’s no light on the bridge, drug addicts and troublemakers gather there at night. They sometimes rob people and openly take drugs on the bridge. If lights were installed, they wouldn’t be able to loiter here.”
Md Hafizur Rahman, executive engineer of the Roads and Highways Department in Jhenaidah, said, “The project was implemented by WBBIP and later handed over to us. We don’t have the original design. We’ll discuss the lighting issue with the Jhenaidah Municipality. If they can’t take steps, we’ll inform the higher authorities.”
Md Kamal Uddin, executive engineer of Jhenaidah Municipality, said, “Lighting arrangements should have been included during the bridge’s construction. However, we’ll soon install lights through a new project to resolve the public inconvenience.”
