Floating bridge built by school teacher ends sufferings of villagers

Ibrahim Ali, 45, the headmaster of Shalmara Ghonapara Government Primary School, has set a unique example by constructing a 50-foot-long floating bridge on the Sati River with drums and bamboo at Chandrapur union in Kaliganj upazila of Lalmonirhat.

Thanks to Ibrahim Ali’s initiative, around 15,000 villagers, including students, are now able to cross the river using the bridge.

“When no one stepped up to repair the concrete bridge over the river after it collapsed, I decided to build a floating bamboo bridge myself with the help of two or four local people to alleviate the sufferings of people including my students. We used 20 drums and more than hundred bamboos,” said headmaster Ibrahim Ali.

“The bridge cost about Tk one lakh. The concrete bridge on the Sati River has remained collapsed for a year, causing sufferings of the villagers on both sides of the river,” said an employee of Naodabas Dakhil Madrasa Md Ruhul Amin.

Hundreds of students of schools and colleges used to cross the river in a risky manner, said Sajal, a college student.

Villager Md Abdur Rashid said, "It was a real struggle to cross the river through chest-high water so far. We are very happy now to have the floating bridge. Now students can go to school very quickly and easily.”

Another villager, Md Abdul Alim, said, “Water levels of the Sati River, which is almost dead, rise during the monsoon. The upazila administration built the bridge that collapsed about a year ago.”

Some local residents also demanded construction of a new concrete bridge as permanent solution to the problem.

Kaliganj Upazila Project Implementation Officer Md Ferdous Ahmed said that locals have been struggling to cross the river as the concrete bridge over the river Sati collapsed.

“The tender for the re-constructing the bridge has already been floated,” he added