The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) has approved the construction of a 1.5km-long bridge over the Teesta River at a cost of Tk6.30bn, bringing relief and joy to the people of Kurigram and Gaibandha.
The bridge will create a direct road communication network between the two districts and it will reduce the distance between Dhaka and Shonahat Port of Kurigram by 120km. Three million people can now look forward to savingr money and time while commuting between Dhaka and the districts.
The approval came at a meeting of Ecnec chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday. Meeting sources said the government had estimated the total cost to be Tk6.3bn for building the bridge in four years. Saudi Arabia’s financial assistance, Saudi Fund for Development, will provide Tk5.23bn for the project.
Wahidur Rahman, chief engineer of Local Government Engineering Department, said a team had already visited the possible spots for constructing the bridge in Panchpir village of Gaibandha and Chilmari-Bojra road adjacent to the river.
The visiting team will later make a proposal of building a 1,490-metre long “Pre-stressed Concrete Girder” and send it to the planning ministry.
On the issue, AKM Maidul Islam, former minister and MP from Kurigram 3 constituency said locals of Kurigram has been demanding a bridge over the Teesta River for a long time in order to smooth the road communication with the capital.
In 1996, communication minister of then ruling Awami League, Anwar Hossain Manju, had assured the locals of building the bridge over the river. However, the construction was stopped after BNP assumed power in the next term.
Later, the construction work again started after the ruling Awami League came to power.
