Even after changing the contractor, the work of the bridge was not completed in 7 years

LGED has been accused of not being able to complete the construction work of Bhashasainik Golam Mawla Bridge on the Rkirtinasha river of Shariatpur's Nadia-Jazira link road despite changing the contractor twice in 7 years.

Besides, since the old bridge was demolished six months ago, the locals now have to cross the river in boats and trawlers at risk. According to the locals, such a situation has arisen due to the negligence of the concerned authorities and public representatives.

It is known that a bridge was constructed over the Kirtinasha river in the fiscal year 1997-98 to facilitate road communication between Shariatpur's Naria and Vedarganj upazilas. In 2015, the authorities stopped the traffic on the bridge because it was dangerous for traffic. However, if you want, you can walk over the bridge. When the initiative to build a new bridge was taken, the old bridge was closed by the contractor company 7 months ago. Since then the residents of both banks have been crossing the river in boats or trawlers.

Sources of Shariatpur Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) said that in 1997, LGD constructed a 105-meter long bridge over the Kirtinasha river in Naria upazila of Shariatpur. Since 2010, the bridge has become vulnerable due to river erosion. In 2015, LGED declared the bridge as unsafe when it became unusable. Heavy traffic was stopped. In order to build a new bridge, in 2017, the construction of a 105 meter bridge was undertaken at a cost of 14 crore rupees.

LGED commissioned a contractor named Navana Construction. After working on the bridge for a few days, Navana Construction left without completing the work in 2019.

The tender was held again in 2021. The length of the 105 meter bridge was increased to 222 meters. Kohinoor Enterprise received the work order for this work. They complete 50% of the work. The work period ended on June 9. For 50% of the work, the contractor has already collected 83.8 million taka.

Locals said that the work of this bridge started before the Padma Bridge. However, the people of Naria and Vedarganj are being deprived of the benefits of Padma Bridge as the work of Golam Mawla Bridge is not completed. The passenger bus from Dhaka stops at the western end of the bridge. Traveling to different areas of the two upazilas has to be broken. On the other hand, people living on the western side of the bridge are also suffering. They have to travel long distances with sick patients. Students also have to suffer. Farmers are in trouble with the supply of produce.

The contractor Abdul Wahab is doing the construction of the bridge on behalf of Kohinoor Enterprises. He said on the phone that no one is paying attention to the main problems of the project. The initial design of the bridge is not correct, so a new design has to be made after piling. Final decision can be taken only after soil test. Although the initial duration of the project was two-and-a-half years, the time has automatically increased by 50 percent. Design changes will take another six months, making the work more than four years to complete.

LGED Executive Engineer SM Rafeul Islam said, 'Though there are some complications in the construction of pillars, 50-55 percent of the work has been completed in seven years. It will take a year to complete the rest of the work. Departmental action has been taken against the contractor appointed in 2017 for not completing the work.

He further said, 'The new contractor has been repeatedly urged to speed up the work. Besides, construction of alternative foot overbridges is underway for people to travel. Which is trying to be completed in the next two months. The main bridge work will be completed before July 2025.