Tk 32 lakh bridge in Rauzan, Chattogram unused for 10 years as approach road collapses into canal

A bridge built at a cost of Tk 32 lakh 52 thousand in Jhikutipara village of Noapara union, Rauzan upazila of Chattogram, has not served local people in nearly 10 years. After construction, the approach road collapsed into the canal and soil shifted from the bridge foot, leaving it effectively unusable.

Local sources said the 40-foot bridge was built in the 2016-17 fiscal year over the Jhikutipara canal in Ward No. 5 of Noapara union under a bridge construction project of the Department of Disaster Management. The cost was Tk 32,52,653. Locals allege that with no effective protection for the approach road and canal bank after construction, the bridge became unfit for use.

They say tidal water and rain have washed one side of the approach road into the water body, while on the other side soil has shifted from the bridge foot and the road has subsided. As a result, even though the bridge exists, there is no way to cross without difficulty.

Bricks have come up at various points of the road, creating numerous small and large potholes. With no durable embankment on the canal bank, the risk of erosion is rising, and local people say homes near the route are also under threat, alongside the travel path itself.

Students suffer most when movement is disrupted during tides and rain. Local teacher Milon Kanti Das said the road has long lain neglected for lack of repair, movement almost stops during tide or rain, and the poor state of the road is also disrupting students' studies.

Local seventh-grade student Abdullah said they cannot go to school regularly because of the bad condition of the road, which is submerged by even a little rain.

Local residents Nirmal Das and Md Nasir said that without an embankment on the canal bank, homesteads and the travel path are continually being lost to the canal. They said a durable embankment is needed, along with quick repair of the road, to keep rural communication running and protect homes.

Md Zahedul Karim Bappi, organising secretary of the Chattogram North district branch of the National Citizen Party (NCP), said he has inspected the road including the bridge and has written to the government seeking repair of the unusable road.

Mizanur Rahman Majumdar, Rauzan upazila engineer of the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), said the bridge was built under the Department of Disaster Management, so they have nothing to do directly in this regard, and repair work is not possible in the road's current state. If the Department of Disaster Management repairs the bridge approach road, a plan for road repair will be taken later, he said.

Rauzan Upazila Project Implementation Officer Babul Kanti Chakma said the bridge was built about 10 years ago, so the matter was not known to him, but he will try to inquire and take necessary steps. He also said they currently have no earth-cutting or earth-filling project.

Local people demand that, through coordination among the concerned departments, steps be taken quickly to rebuild the approach road, build a durable protective embankment on the canal bank and repair the damaged road, so the publicly funded bridge becomes usable.