Thousands of people in Amtali Upazila of Barguna are passing day and night in constant fear of collapsing local iron bridges.
According to local sources, due to lack of maintenance, the conditions of ninety-nine iron bridges of Amtali in the district have deteriorated. Locals fear that any of the bridges could collapse at any movement, leading to a major accident.
The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) has taken action after nine people died in a bridge collapsed adjacent to Amtali’s Haldia Bazar on June 22. LGED authority has started to make a list of the risky bridges, putting up warning signboards, and installing bamboo fences and barriers at the entrances of these bridges.
According to the upazila LGED sources, from 1997-98 to 2008-09 under the ‘Light vehicle traffic’ project of LGED, nearly a hundred iron bridges were constructed and maintained in the seven unions and one municipality of Amtali Upazila. The project duration did not extend after 2008-09. Since then, there have been no further initiatives to maintain and repair those bridges. However, local LGED has constructed girder bridges in several important locations.
As a result, at least 15 bridges, including the following, have collapsed due to severe deterioration: a bridge on the Kewabunia canal during cyclone Sidr in 2007, on the Sonakhali Mussulli Bari canal in Athrogachia Union on June 8, 2015, on the canal in front of Sonakhali School and College on May 14, 2015, on the Bashbunia canal during cyclone Roanu on May 16, 2016, on the Amragachia canal on July 9 of the same year, on the Kutubpur canal in Kukua Union on March 10, 2019, on the Kaunia canal on June 24, 2022, on the West Amtali Arpangasia canal on May 15, 2022, on the Altaf Hossain Molla Bari canal in Haldia Union in 2022, a bridge on the Madhya Chandra canal on May 26, 2024, and most recently, on June 22, a bridge adjacent to Haldia Bazar.
Beyond this, the bridges that are still standing over the canals are also 100 per cent dilapidated and unusable for passage. Following this, most of the bridges were damaged by cyclone Sidr in 2007, cyclone Aila in 2009, cyclone Mahasen in 2013, cyclone Roanu in 2016, and most recently by the impact of cyclone Remal.
The cement slippers, railings, and structures of the bridges have collapsed. As the bridges remain in this state, various materials including the railings and angles are being stolen. In place of the collapsed bridges, residents have taken the initiative to make temporary repairs using bamboo, planks, areca palm trees, and other materials, forcing people to cross these bridges at high risk. As a result, pedestrians and students often fall victim to accidents.
During a visit, this correspondent found that after the collapse of the bridge near Haldia Bazar on June 22, the entire union is now isolated from the Sadar Upazila. To travel to the Sadar Upazila, Dhaka, or Barishal, nearly 40,000 residents of the union have to cross this bridge. Currently, in place of the collapsed bridge, villagers have constructed a bamboo footbridge for their movement with the collected donations from the villagers and funds donated by a female MP and lecturer Farzana Sumi.
A resident from Sadar Union Afjal Hossain said that due to the collapse of the bridge, the movement of the Haldia Union’s villagers was disrupted. Recently, the villagers have built a bridge with bamboo for their movement.
Haldia Union Parishad member Saiful Islam Shopon said the people from Haldia Union cross the bridge near Haldia Bazar to travel to the Sadar Upazila and various parts of the country. After the bridge collapsed on June 22, people's movement came to a halt. Therefore, out of necessity, the local residents have voluntarily constructed a bamboo footbridge.
Meanwhile, on May 16, 2016, the bridge adjacent to the JB Shener Hat Government Primary School over the Bashbunia canal in the south Taktabunia village of Haldia Union collapsed into the canal due to heavy rainfall caused by cyclone Roanu. The middle section of the bridge, about 30 metres long, fell into the water along with several passengers. During this incident, three residents of south Taktabunia village, who were crossing the bridge, fell into the canal and were seriously injured.
The collapse of the bridge has caused immense suffering for the nearly 15,000 people from Jagat Chand, Madhya Tepura, North Tepura, South Tepura, East Tepura, and South Taktabunia villages for the past eight years. Out of necessity, the local residents have currently set up a small dinghy boat with three planks to maintain their movement across the canal.
The iron bridge in Kukua Union collapsed during Sidr. Despite passing a long time, the bridge still hasn't been repaired.
Similarly, after the collapse of the bridge near Mollah Bari in Haldia Union, the locals constructed a bamboo footbridge for crossing. Following the collapse of the bridge over the Kaunia canal, locals collected donations and built a floating bridge using plastic drums and wood, which they used to cross with risk. Here, hundreds of students commute daily to Kaunia Ibrahim Academy and Kaunia Government Primary School at great risk.
After the collapse of the bridge near Haldia Bazaar on Saturday, the Amtali Upazila LGED has prepared a list of the risky bridges.
According to the list, there are 17 highly risky bridges in the Haldia Union, 25 in the Gulishakhali Union, eight in the Arpangasia Union, four in the Kukua Union, eight in Amtali Sadar Union, 21 in Athrogachia Union, 12 in Chowra Union, and four in Amtali Municipality, making a total of 99 bridges.
Abdullah Al Mamun, the engineer of Amtali Upazila LGED, said that the list of 99 risky iron bridges has been sent to the higher authorities. Warning signboards have been placed at the entrances of these bridges, and poles have been installed to prevent the movement of heavy vehicles.
The upazila engineer further said that an initiative has been taken to replace these bridges with girder bridges.
Golam Sarwar Forkan, chairman of Amtali Upazila Parishad, said that all iron bridges in Amtali Upazila are risky. About 1,50,000 people cross these risky bridges daily to travel to different parts of the country. Therefore, at any time, these risky bridges could collapse, causing a major accident. Before such accidents occur, it is necessary to remove these bridges and construct girder bridges.
Md Mehedi Hasan Khan, an executive engineer of LGED Barguna, said that the work of making a list of all the risky bridges in the district is ongoing. The list of highly risky bridges will be identified and sent to the higher authorities on a priority basis.
