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Hundreds spend joyous first day on Padma Bridge

Staff Correspondent
27 Jun 2022 00:00:00 | Update: 27 Jun 2022 01:11:01
Hundreds spend joyous first day on Padma Bridge
Enthusiastic visitors walk and take pictures on the bridge – Courtesy Photo

Padma Bridge on Sunday was filled with excited people who wanted to mark the day in a festive mood and make some memories after the bridge officially opened to the public.

Hundreds of people were seen waiting on both ends of the 6.15-km-long bridge even before the toll plazas opened around 5:50am.

Enthusiast visitors from different areas of the country were seen enjoying their time on the bridge to their hearts’ content, violating the restrictions placed by the authorities as they stopped their vehicles many times, got off and walked around.

The visitors enjoyed the serenity of the views from the bridge, taking photos and selfies, and making videos after arriving with their families, friends and colleagues on motorcycles, cars and microbuses.

Many even chartered buses and trucks to visit the bridge. Several long-route buses were also seen parked in a queue on the side as the passengers got off to enjoy some time.

Even highway police personnel and members of the army were seen stopping their vehicles to snap photos.

After it opened around 6am, authorities and law enforcers did not allow anyone to get on the bridge on foot. But the restrictions loosened gradually as time passed.

While groups of people on foot from the Zajira end were coming to the bridge, many at the Mawa end were seen sneaking onto the structure avoiding the eyes of the authorities.

Mohibullah, a Dhaka-bound passenger, said, “The time has come to enjoy and make some memories. This is a special moment for me because I worked on the Padma Bridge project from 2017 to 2019.”

The executive magistrate in charge used a loudhailer to warn and try to stop people from violating the restriction but it did not work. After hearing his warnings, visitors were seen moving away and stopping at another point to enjoy their time on the bridge.

As hours went by, hundreds of people were seen arriving to visit the bridge.

“I came from Khulna with my friend to visit the Padma Bridge. I was afraid that we won’t be allowed to walk on the bridge. But I’m walking on it,” said a beaming Nazrul Islam.

Before the Mawa end toll plaza opened in the morning, there was a three-kilometre-long queue of motorcycles, cars, buses and cargo vehicles.

“We came here on Saturday and did not return home. We just waited here for the bridge to open for the common people,” said an excited Masum Ahmed at the toll plaza.

Several southbound passengers also claimed that they could not even manage bus tickets to go and see the bridge as most of the tickets were pre-booked.

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