Sports celebrate Padma Bridge inauguration

25 June 2022 will now forever be marked as a red-letter day in the history of Bangladesh as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Padma Bridge, a symbol of national pride.

To be a part of the nationwide celebration, sports bodies like the Bangladesh Cricket Board and Bangladesh Football Federation organised individual programs at their office premise to mark the occasion.

Bangladesh cricket team are playing the second Test of their two-match series against West Indies in St. Lucia, and they also joined the festival by cutting a cake at the team hotel.

BCB organised a special ceremony at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, where BCB president Nazmul Hassan, along with most of the BCB directors, were present. A special prayer was carried out for the long and prosperous life of the prime minister. Later, food was distributed in the nearby orphanages.

BFF also arranged a special program at the BFF Bhaban in Motijheel, where BFF president Kazi Salahuddin was present, along with players from the women’s national team and officials of BFF.

One of the venues of the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League is the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani Stadium in Gopalganj. Officials from clubs are very happy about the accomplishment of the bridge because now they don’t have to face the hassles of the ferry.

Ariful Islam, team manager of the Muktijoddha Sangshad, has been crossing the Padma River via speed boat or ferry for almost ten years and has had disturbing experiences.

“It takes one and a half hours to cross the river on a ferry boat, but you can’t predict how long it will take to get into a ferry first. Sometimes we reached the terminal at 7 AM but could not get on to a ferry even at 11 AM. For the tiring journey, the players cannot train on the day they travel,” he told the media.

In most cases, the participating teams go to the venue in Gopalganj at least one or two days before the match because of the hassles at the ferry terminal. The hotel fares and travel expenses put a heavy toll on smaller clubs with a tight budget. Now, the footballers will be very happy because they won’t have to spend the entire day on a bus. Club officials are also happy as they don’t have to keep the team there for a long period.

Though the Tigers had a troubled day at St Lucia as they were all-out for just 234 runs in their first innings of the second Test, the joy of Padma Bridge inauguration put a smile on their face at the end of the day.

Captain Shakib Al Hasan expressed his feeling about the newly built bridge through a video message from St Lucia.

“Many thanks to the honourable prime minister. Especially from the people of the southern part of the country. Because I feel this is the biggest contribution to the development of the people of the Southern region. The whole nation had a dream and that became a reality under the guidance of the honourable prime minister. I hope this bridge will take the economy of the country one step ahead,” said Shakib.

Tamim Iqbal, the One-Day captain and opening batsman, also thanked the prime minister and the workers for completing this monumental task.

“I think it is a big achievement for Bangladesh. Once, there was a time when we were not sure about the construction of this bridge. But thanks to our honourable prime minister’s dedication and efforts, today we have fulfilled the dream project. I convey my thanks to every single person involved with the Padma Bridge, especially the workers who worked really hard. I have only one thing to say, the whole nation will not forget you. And finally, on behalf of the Bangladesh cricket team, many many thanks to the honourable prime minister,” Tamim said.

BCB president Nazmul Hassan told the reporters at SBNCS on Saturday, “Padma Bridge is a game-changer. Earlier, we did not focus on the south-western part of the country due to lack of communication. Now it is an opportunity for us to spread the game to those areas.”

Bangladesh Olympic Association celebrated the inauguration at the Bangabandhu Stadium and distributed food among the homeless of the nearby area.