Two bridges in Dumuria upazila of Khulna were completed three years ago, but remain unusable as their approach roads have not been built due to unresolved land acquisition disputes.
The situation has left thousands of residents, including students, facing serious difficulties in travelling between villages on either side of the bridges.
According to the Dumuria upazila engineering office, construction of the 65-metre Kulati Bridge over the Mora-Bhadra River began in 2018 at a cost of Tk 4.64 crore to improve communication between Badurgacha and Kulati villages in Gutudia Union. The bridge was completed within three years.
However, disputes over ownership of land needed for the approach road emerged from the beginning. Despite the issue remaining unresolved for nearly eight years, the approach road has yet to be constructed, leaving the bridge largely unused.
Construction of the 84-metre Gajendrapur Bridge over the same river also began around the same time at a cost of Tk 4.84 crore to improve communication between Sahas and Sharafpur unions. The bridge was completed three years ago, but its approach road remains unfinished for the same reason.
Meanwhile, similar land acquisition complications have affected two other major bridges currently under construction in the upazila.
A 750-metre bridge over the Sharafpur-Gaoghara River is being built at a cost of Tk 119.52 crore, while a 461-metre bridge over the Kadamtala-Madartala River in Shovna Union is being constructed at a cost of Tk 67.55 crore. Land acquisition for their approach roads is also yet to be resolved.
Ram Prasad Mondal, one of the landowners whose property is needed for the Kulati Bridge approach road, said several investigations had been conducted into the issue, but 15-16 landowners on both sides of the bridge had yet to receive compensation.
Uttam Sarkar, a teacher at Kulati Secondary School, said residents had previously used a bamboo footbridge to cross the river. After it was removed following construction of the new bridge, local residents had to build bamboo stairs at their own expense to access the bridge.
“People have no choice but to take considerable risks to cross the bridge,” he said.
Mashiur Rahman Liton, a BNP leader, said the Gajendrapur Bridge was now being used to dry paddy instead of for transportation because it had no approach road.
He said communication between the two unions could be disrupted completely if the old bridge collapses.
Monoranjan Das, acting chairman of Sharafpur Union Parishad, said the failure to open the bridge three years after its completion was causing significant hardship for residents and hurting local businesses.
Dumuria Upazila Engineer Darul Huda said he had been trying to resolve the issue for the past two years, but the land acquisition process remained stuck in bureaucratic complications.
“We cannot construct the approach roads until the land acquisition issue is resolved,” he said.
Dumuria Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sabita Sarker said the administration was making efforts to resolve the issues involving the Kulati and Gajendrapur bridges.
Khulna-5 MP Ali Asgar Lobby said effective measures would be taken soon to make the two bridges operational.
