The village of Gobordhan in Mohishkhocha union of Lalmonirhat’s Aditmari upazila lies on the banks of one of the Teesta River’s tributaries. The lack of a proper bridge across the river is causing villagers many difficulties because they risk their lives daily by crossing the river on a makeshift bamboo bridge.
Locals said several hundred people in the surrounding areas rely on the 80metre long bamboo bridge. Accidents are common many have slipped and fallen off the unsafe structure.
In just the last three months, eight school children and two elderly women fell off the bridge, though there haven’t been fatal accidents recently, villagers are worried.
The bamboo bridge needs repairs and must be rebuilt every year, the responsibility for it has fallen on the villagers.
They said the local union parishad or upazila parishad hasn’t helped in any way; the bamboo and other material required for the bridge are bought by the villagers.
Locals said over 200 bamboos are needed to build the bridge, and they accused the local leaders and members of the union parishad of neglect. Despite repeated requests to them for a secure bridge to be constructed, they have not taken any steps.
Local resident Mohsin Ali said: “In the village we are 110 families, who usually fund the cost of building the bamboo bridge every year because without the bridge, even though it is unsafe, we have no other means of staying connected.”
He said they have sought help from the UP chairman and others to construct a permanent bridge of concrete and steel, but haven’t had a positive response. Ali said: “People living here are very poor and cannot afford to build a better bridge on their own.”
Taherul Islam is a class three student at Mohishkhocha Government Primary School, he said: “It’s risky to cross the bridge but there is no alternative for us.”
Mohishkhocha Union Parishad Chairman Mosaddek Hossain Chowdhury said: “It is not possible to construct a concrete bridge at the spot as it is very close to the Teesta River, there are risks involved, of erosion, especially during monsoon.”
He claimed funds were provided every year for the bamboo bridge’s construction, and added that recently they appealed to the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) to seek the government’s help in this regard.
