More than 10 thousand inhabitants of at least seven villages under Jibannagar upazila in Chuadanga have been suffering immensely as two bridges connecting them to the Chuadanga-Jhenaidah regional highway collapsed in three days due to strong river current triggered by heavy rain.
Of the bridges, the bridge on the Bhairab in Manoharpur village collapsed on Monday and the other bridge near Santospur bus stand collapsed early Wednesday.
The collapse of the bridges has left people of Santospur, Manikpur, Rajapur, Ratirampur, Sinnagar, Dhopakhali, and Madhabkhali villages stranded in their villages.
As a result, the villagers said, students mostly cannot reach their schools, farmers are unable to bring their crops to markets, and local trade has come to a standstill.
Many villagers who are compelled to cross the broken structure are risking their lives, they said.
They said that though hundreds of people use the bridges to go to their destinations for their daily needs, there was no initiative from the government to restore the road communication until Thursday evening.
According to the office of Jibannagar Upazila Engineer, under the Local Government Engineering Department, both bridges were built by the Bangladesh Water Development Board.
Former Utholi union parishad chairman Abul Kalam Azad said that residents of the seven villages were now confined to their homes, with children unable to attend schools.
Local union parishad member Abdus Sattar described the same and demanded urgent action from the government.
鈥榃e are completely cut off from other areas. The authorities must arrange an alternative crossing immediately,鈥� he added.
Jibannagar upazila nirbahi officer Md Al-Amin Hossain, who inspected the site, said that Santospur Bridge was very important for local communication.
He said that they had spoken with the authorities to rebuild the bridge and that they were working on immediate alternatives to restore communication.
Jibannagar Upazila engineer Md Ashraful Islam, under the Local Government Engineering Department, said that the Santospur Bridge was constructed soon after independence by the Water Development Board.
鈥楾he collapsed bridge is beyond repair,鈥� he said, adding, 鈥榓 new one will have to be built, and we will send a proposal soon. But, it will take time.鈥�
