In 2003, a bridge was built on a farmland in Char Badarpur village of Feni, which surprisingly does not connect to any roads or highways and remains completely unused.
There are no localities in the immediate vicinity, and nearby villagers are still puzzled after 15 years as to why this bridge was ever built.
According to sources from the Local Government Engineering Department, a bridge with the dimension of thirty feet by eight feet was built near the bank of Feni river in 2003, with a budget of around Tk30 lakh.
The project was implemented by the upazila engineering department. The bridge does not connect to any roads or populated regions.
Visiting the bridge in person, the Dhaka Tribune could not locate any residential building near half a kilometer radius of the bridge, which stands on a farmland. Charbadarpur-Mawlan road is located 2 kilometers away from the bridge, and Takia Bazar-Kutirhat road is one kilometer away.
The bridge is only surrounded by acres of farmland.
Responding to query, former chairman of Charmajlishpur Union AKM Touki Kalachan said: “The construction of this bridge began during my tenure in 2003. I had asked the then upazila engineer why this bridge to nowhere is being built here.
“The official told that the project is moving forward because the government has granted a budget for it.”
The former chairman continued: “I have made repeated requests to the authorities concerned not to build that unnecessary bridge, but they did not take any action to stop its construction.”
Majlishpur Union Parishad Chairman Mohammad Hossain said: “There was no need for that bridge. The local people are still seeking answers as to why Tk30 lakh was spent for its construction. The government fund was just squandered.
“Since its construction 15 years ago, the bridge has been useless, and it will remain useless in the far future.”
Commenting on the matter, Human Rights Review Society member Kazi Mizanur Rahman said: “When a project is implemented with the public interest in mind, it is probable that the motive was to engage in irregularities and corruption.
“This unnecessary bridge was built to serve someone’s personal interest.”
Meanwhile, Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) Executive Engineer Md Shah Alam Patowari told the Dhaka Tribune: “This project was implemented long ago. We will launch an investigation on why a bridge was built without any roads nearby.”
