Villagers Build Wooden Bridge Over Chengi River at Bijitala Ghat in Khagrachhari, Demand a Permanent Bridge

Villagers have built a wooden bridge with voluntary labour over the Chengi River at Bijitala Ghat, between No. 1 Khagrachhari Union and No. 2 Kamalchhari Union in Khagrachhari Sadar Upazila.

Bijitala Ghat is a very old crossing point. Around 300 to 400 people, including school and college students, use the ghat every day.

In the rainy season people can cross by boat, but boats cannot operate in the dry season. Walking across means wet clothes and having to take off shoes and sandals, causing severe hardship for ordinary people.

Considering this hardship for students and the public, residents of Bijitala and Betchhari Marma Para on the two banks of the Chengi River have been building a wooden bridge in the dry season for the past few years.

For the last two to three years, however, the entire cost of the timber has been borne by Ramrachai Marma, a resident of Betchhari Marma Para. He pays for all the wood, while villagers from both banks do the construction work together.

Built at a cost of about two to two and a half lakh taka, the bridge lasts only six to seven months. When the monsoon arrives, it is washed away by the river current. Local residents have therefore demanded a permanent bridge at the ghat.

Robijoy Chakma of Itchhari village, Shyamal Chakma of Datkupya village and Chaihlao of Betchhari Marma Para, who use the ghat, said it is very old and the dry season brings extreme hardship, with school and college students suffering the most. The wooden bridge has eased crossing, but it will be washed away in the monsoon, so they demanded that the government build a permanent bridge.

Momong Marma of Betchhari village said people from many surrounding villages, including Betchhari, Itchhari and Gamaridhala, use the ghat besides the residents of the two banks. The wooden bridge was built with villagers' cooperation, thinking of his son and other students and the public's hardship, and he too demanded a permanent bridge from the government.

Ramrachai Marma said that although crossing by boat is possible in the monsoon, people suffer greatly in the dry season. Thinking of everyone's hardship, he took the initiative to build the wooden bridge with his own financing and the cooperation of local residents.

Khagrachhari Union Parishad Chairman Gyan Dutta Tripura has also demanded that the government build a permanent bridge to ease the suffering of people who cross at the ghat.

Khagrachhari Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) Executive Engineer Md. Anwar Rahman said they had inspected the Bijitala road ghat between the two unions earlier. A proposal to build a bridge there has been sent to the ministry. If allocation is received, an estimate will be prepared and tenders invited.