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A bridge built over the Jamuna canal at a cost of about Tk 6 crore in Belkuchi upazila of Sirajganj has remained unused for four years, as no approach roads were ever constructed.

The 72-metre RCC girder bridge was intended to ease communication for more than 30,000 residents of Delua, Char Delua, Madhya Delua, Ratonkandi, Sohagpur, Bardhul, and nearby villages. Yet villagers still depend on boats during the monsoon and makeshift bamboo walkways or muddy footpaths in the dry season to reach markets, schools, or hospitals.

Construction of the bridge was completed in 2021.

‘When the work began, people were thrilled,’ said Shaheen Ahmed, a handloom worker. ‘But years later, the bridge is just standing there without approach roads, and we cannot use it.’

Abdul Alim, a teacher, said that villagers had dumped soil themselves to create temporary paths after contractors abandoned the site. ‘The bridge is of no use for vehicles, and its purpose has not been fulfilled,’ he said.

Saleha Begum, a local resident, said that she even had to use a ladder to climb onto the bridge to cross the canal.

‘Without approach roads, this structure is useless,’ echoed Amir Ali of Char Delua.

The Local Government Engineering Department launched the project in 2020, awarding the contract to Moinuddin Bashi Ltd. The main structure was finished on time, but land acquisition disputes stalled the approach road construction.

‘The bridge is structurally complete, but landowners resisted when road construction began,’ said Belkuchi upazila LGED engineer Muhammad Alamgir Hossain.

LGED executive engineer Md Rezaul Islam said that the acquisition process was now ‘nearing completion.’

Once resolved, the contractor would finish the approach roads, he added, noting that a connecting road would be included in the next phase of development.

Rezate Rabbi, a representative of Moinuddin Bashi Ltd, also defended the firm’s role.

‘About 95 per cent of the main structure has been completed. But due to land acquisition complications, we could not finish carpeting the bridge deck or building the approach roads on both sides,’ he said.