After much hardship and waiting by the people of Mohammadpur upazilla of Magura, finally, money has been sanctioned for constructing a bridge over the river Modhumati in the upazilla of the district.
The proposed bridge will connect Mohammadpur upazilla, which stands on the eastern bank of the river, with the Boalmari upazilla on its western bank.
Once the bridge is completed, travel to Dhaka from the Mohammadpur upazilla will take only three hours as against the five hours that it is taking now.
Moreover, commuting between Mohammadpur and some other districts like Gopalganj, Barisal and Faridpur, will take less time once the bridge is completed.
People are hoping that the bridge would facilitate business in the district and accelerate the development works in the area.
The bridge will be constructed at a total cost outlay of Tk1000m.
According to the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) of Magura, in the first phase, around Tk495m has been sanctioned for the construction of the bridge, and the remaining TK505m will be sanctioned later.
Sheikh Nurul Islam, executive engineer of LGED, Magura, said they would float a tender for the construction work before the end of this month.
In 1998, the Roads and Highways Department had set up a ferry service linking the Mohammadpur and Boalmari upazillas.
The newly commenced ferry service had been the source of much joy to the people of Mohammadpur, and businesses along with all other commercial activities had benefitted from the service.
But the ferry service was shut down in 2002, as the wooden platforms of the ferry service were damaged due to heavy rainfall and strong river currents.
Since then, the people of the upazilla have been asking for a bridge over the river to replace the ferry service.
