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Years pass, sufferings remain

25,000 villagers in Barguna's Amtali upazila using three risky bamboo bridges for long 20 years

Our Correspondent, Patuakhali
When it comes to road communications, a lot has changed in the country over the last 20 years. But more than 25,000 inhabitants, in 16 villages of Barguna's Amtali upazila, still have no other way but use three bamboo bridges built at least 15 years ago over three wide canals.
The smallest of the bridges is 100 feet long and the largest one is 150 feet long.
The longest one was built 20 years ago by locals on Pochakoralia canal for communications between Pochakoralia union in Taitali upazila and Arpangashia union in Amtali upazila.
Jasim Uddin Sikder from Kalarang village under Pochakoralia union said villagers on both sides of the canal built the bridge with their own funds and they have been spending money on its yearly maintenance ever since.
Their repeated requests for a concrete bridge on the canal fell on deaf ears, he added.
Contacted, Arpangashia Union Parishad
Chairman AKM Nurul Haq said around 15,000 people including students of at least 20 educational institutions, on both sides of the canal, use the bamboo bridge every day.
He claimed that on many occasions he requested officials of Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) to construct a permanent bridge on the canal and he had raised the issue at upazila development meetings too.
A 120-foot long bridge on Ramjir canal was built nearly 15 years ago by residents of Gurudol, Holdia, Chila and Nachnapara villages in Holdia union under Amtali upazila. Now the bridge is used by around 5,000 people including hundreds of students every day.
A concrete bridge should be built on the canal as the bamboo bridge is risky for all, especially for school going children, said Chila village resident Ambia Khatun.
Mohammad Mamun, member of Holdia Union Parishad, said, the villagers have been suffering immensely and the authorities
concerned should build a concrete bridge there.
The third bamboo bridge, 100 feet in length, was also built by locals on Tepura canal, running through Amtali's Holdia union and Champapur union in Kalapara upazila of Patuakhali.
This risky bridge is the only means of communications for 5,000 inhabitants of the two unions.
Arif Billah, a tenth grader, said, "It's quite dangerous to cross the bridge during rainy season when it usually gets slippery.”
For the sake of schoolchildren and villagers' safety, the authorities need to construct a proper bridge on the canal, said Alam Mollik, headteacher of Tepura Government Primary School.
When this correspondent reached Nazrul Islam, LGED engineer in Amtali upazila, and asked what his department was doing to address sufferings of the villagers in the upazila, he said although they currently do not have funds for bridges on the three canals, they would take necessary steps in this regard.