The construction work of a 96-metre-long PSC Girder Bridge at Chaikola Point on Gumani River connecting Chaikola and Handial union under Chatmohar Upazila of Pabna is about to be completed very soon.
Once the bridge, being constructed by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) is completed, hundreds of thousands of people from some ten villages in the surrounding areas will enjoy the benefit of it.
Earlier, people of the area had to wait for the ferry boat to cross the river in the rainy season. People risking their lives cross the river using the flimsy bamboo bridge when the river water reduces at the end of monsoon.
But now, when the construction of the bridge is finishing, a lot of people of a few villages on both sides of the river will be relieved from the sufferings of crossing the river.
According to LGED sources, on January 28 in 2019, Pabna-3 MP Alhaj Md Maqbool Hossain inaugurated the construction work of the bridge. The estimated cost of the bridge is about Tk 8 crore 22 lakh while the contract cost has been set at Tk 8 crore 52 lakh.
The construction work started on January 7 in 2019 and is expected to be completed by April 30. Alamgir Jahan & Khairul Kabir JV, a Rangpur-based contractor company, is constructing the bridge.
Md Akram Hossain, Acting Principal of Charanabeen Hamida Mumtaz Technical School and College and a resident of Charanbeen village, people from ten to twelve local villages including Charanbeen, Nabeen, Langalmora, Bardanagar, Chaikola and Katenga will reap the benefits.
“We have to cross this river to go home from Chatmohar Sadar. We have to wait for hours when there is no boatm at the Ferry Ghat at night. The people of the area will not have to suffer anymore from now on to cross the river,” he added.
Hasinur Rahman, a college teacher from Chaikola village said that Chaikola village is located on the west bank of Gumani River. About 30,000 people live in about 40 neighbourhoods under the village. On the east bank of the river there is a school and a madrasa while, on the west bank there are several private institutions, Chaikola Degree College, Bank, Land Office, Hat, Bazar, Dakhil Madrasa, 9 Primary Schools, Union Health Complex and 3 High Schools. Moreover, people living on the west bank have a lot of their lands on the east bank of the river.
When the construction work of the bridge is completed, different types of vehicles will be able to ply on the bridge. Local students, common people and farmers will be benefitted greatly when the bridge opens after being completed, he further said.
Chatmohar Upazila Engineer Raju Ahmed said the construction of the bridge was halted for some time due to the spread of Covid-19 virus. There are still some work left to be done, including the construction of a slab of the bridge, the approach roads on both sides, the construction of another small bridge on the road adjacent to the bridge and the acquisition of 16 decimal land for the connecting road on the west bank. It might take longer than the stipulated time to complete these tasks.