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Outlaws woes of Rupsha bridge construction

RAFIQ HASAN
The construction of the donor-funded vital bridge over the Rupsha river has been stalled several times because of harassment by an outlawed extremist group.
According to sources, the Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) has been attacking the officials and workers at the site and demanding toll from the contractors in Khulna since the construction began two years ago.
They have demanded huge amount in toll and attacked the officials and workers at the construction site. One such victim of the PBCP attack was Rezaul Karim Raj, supervisor of the Rupsha Bridge Construction Project at Labonchora. On his way to work in the morning of November 22, the extremists chopped him with a Chinese axe and snatched his cellphone and purse. They left the
spot raising slogans of the underground outfit, according to newspaper reports. Severely injured Raj was admitted to Khulna Medical College Hospital, and is now undergoing treatment in Dhaka.
The outlawed group earlier demanded Tk 50,000 in toll from him. They swooped on him as he had refused to oblige them, according to sources.
The Rupsha bridge project officials and workers witnessed two such major attacks between July and December this year, said an official of the project.
"Such extortion demands and threats are not uncommon, but this time the contractors have filed
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an allegation of threat from the extremists," said Momenul Huq, director of the Rupsha bridge project.
Security has been beefed up at the project site with another 30 policemen joining a contingent of 64 police personnel that has been guarding the project site since the beginning, the source said.
The construction of the Japan-funded bridge started in May 2001 and was supposed to be complete in November 2004. But the completion of the bridge is going to be delayed by at least seven more months.
Though more than 65 percent work has been complete, the contractors are now apprehending that the bridge would not be ready for traffic before June 2005.
Momenul Huq told The Daily Star that the work was delayed
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because of some problems with the piling work of the bridge. The project consultant is yet to assess how much time it will take to complete some necessary treatment to the piling of the bridge, according to sources.
The Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) has been providing Tk 373.87 crore out of the total Tk 521.74 crore for the 1,360-metre-long bridge project.
The government is providing the rest mainly on land acquisition and import duty and taxes of the raw materials.
The bridge will connect the second seaport of Mongla with Khulna and the rest of Bangladesh. After completion of the Rupsha Bridge, Mongla would also be connected by road with Dhaka through the Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge.
The Rupsha Bridge is also vital for reviving Mongla seaport, as it will establish direct road link with neighbouring Nepal and Bhutan.