Residents at Nageshwari upazila in Kurigram district have raised alarm over a pedestrian bridge on the Bhitorband-Kaliganj Road which is on the verge of collapse.
The community, which is separated for 22 miles by a swamp, has the pedestrian bridge as its only link with the district town.
The bridge was said to have been constructed in 1986.
The bridge stands on six vulnerable pillars which may collapse at any time. Cracks develop here and there, and the bricks have been stolen.
Yakub Ali, a resident near the bridge, said accidents on the bridge became a regular phenomenon.
“The people who tried to cross the bridge with sacks of rice or wheat sometimes fell down, as the bridge is so vulnerable,” he said.
Rois Mukul, another resident, said sometimes there have been fatal accidents as there is no railing.
Isam Uddin said, a few days ago, two cyclists fell down from the bridge while they were crossing it.
They were critically injured and admitted to the Sadar hospital, he said.
Nur Islam, chairman of Kaliganj Union Parisad, said: “A total of 150,000 people of Bhitorband, Kaliganj, Kedar, Narsaynpur and Bolverkhas use the bridge to go to the district town.”
No vehicles can ply over the bridge as it had been lying in a vulnerable condition for four years, he said.
“The people of the area have raised their voices many times in calls to repair the bridge, as there is no alternative way of communication for them,” he said.
“I have also asked the concerned authorities to repair the bridge,’” he added.
Farmer Riazul Islam of Kaliganj village said: “ We have incurred losses as we cannot send our crops to the town easily.”
“We urge the concerned authorities to repair the bridge urgently,” he said.
Roads and Highway engineer Hamidul Haque said: “The bridge has been brought under the Periodic Maintenance Programme.”
