For five years a bamboo bridge is Tafalbaria's only link, as over 150 students risk it daily to reach school

In Tafalbaria village of Amkhola Union in Galachipa upazila of Patuakhali, a bamboo bridge is the only means of crossing for around seven thousand people. The iron bridge over the Kalaikeshar canal collapsed five years ago; since then, residents have relied on a bamboo crossing built through local initiative.

No vehicle can use the bamboo bridge. Villagers must cross the canal on foot, and more than 150 students have to take this risky route to school every day.

The situation is most worrying for students. A local government primary school has 120 students, 60 of whom use the bridge to get to school. At Paschim Tafalbaria Secondary School, roughly half of its 350 students also depend on the same crossing.

During the monsoon the bridge becomes wet and slippery. Children risk falling into the canal, and there are incidents of books and notebooks dropping into the water while crossing.

The daily risk is affecting education as well. Student numbers at the schools are falling day by day because of the bridge, and the hazardous journey is reducing children's interest in and attendance at school.

The problem is not limited to students. Families struggle to take sick villagers to hospital, and without a permanent bridge, travel for emergency treatment has become difficult.

Farmers carry their produce on their heads across the bridge and then take it by van or rickshaw to Amkhola bazaar. Because no vehicles can cross, transporting farm produce has become costly and time-consuming.

Local trade has also been hit. The nearby Serukhar bazaar once had 30 to 40 shops doing business. Since the bridge collapsed, trade there has slumped and many shopkeepers have moved their businesses to other markets.

The village is home to children, women, the elderly and the sick, alongside farmers and small traders. Without a permanent bridge, daily life has become miserable for all of them, with negative effects on education, health, farming and the local economy alike.

The people of Tafalbaria have now waited five years for a bridge. Building a permanent concrete bridge over the Kalaikeshar canal is their urgent demand — because it is not merely a development project, but a matter of ensuring people's safety, education and right to a normal life.