Construction of a 42-metre girder bridge has remained suspended for four years, causing immense sufferings to residents of three unions under Pirojpur Sadar upazila.
According to sources at the upazila engineer’s office, the Local Government Engineering Department initiated construction of the bridge over Tona canal between Chalpukhuria and Gopherhat areas in September 2020 at a cost of Tk 4.27 crore to enhance connectivity between Kalakhali, Tona and Durgapur unions in the upazila.
A contractor firm named Mohammed Eunus and Brothers (Pvt) Ltd got the work order, with a stipulated deadline of one year to complete the construction. The firm, however, failed to begin the work in time, leading to extension of the deadline by one more year.
Eventually the contractor firm abandoned the work after completing around 30 percent of the bridge’s construction, leading to suspension of the project.
“Earlier, there was an iron bridge on the canal, which became dilapidated within a short time. The construction of a new bridge began around four years ago, but the work got suspended after the contractor abandoned it and even removed all the materials from the construction site,” said Abu Hossain Mollik, a local of Goperhat area.
Roksana, a resident of Chal Pukhuria village, said, “Every day, we have to cross the canal on boats amid much risk to commute to Pirojpur town and other neighbouring areas. The boats are not available all the time, adding to our hassles.”
Md Towhidul Islam, another local, said if someone needs to cross the canal at 8:00pm for any emergency reason, it would not be possible as boats would not be available before next morning.
Contacted, Harashit Sarkar, upazila engineer in Pirojpur Sadar, said they have contacted with the construction firm for completing the work.
“If they refuse to complete the work, we will take steps as per decision of the higher authority,” he added.
