For lack of bridge, students and villagers suffer

"During monsoon months I often miss classes because of the shako," says Rima Khatun, a Class VI student of Gourinathpur Dhakil Madrassa in Jhenidah's Kotchandpur upazila, using the local word 'shako' for the bamboo bridge over the Kobadak River that many students and villagers rely on for their daily commute. "In rainy season it goes underwater," she says.

To facilitate movement across the 150-metre-wide river, which is up to 5 metres deep, students and teachers built the shako with village-raised funds. Without a permanent and safe bridge available nearby, even a shako seemed an improvement.

Yet the bamboo structure is not only submerged when the level of the river is high but also regularly requires repair. "In rainy season especially I am afraid," says Class V student Sumon Hossain of Komorpur village. He studies in Gourinathpur Government Primary School and also relies on the shako.

Madrassa teacher Humayun Kabir and Class XI student Sabuj Hossain of Shamsulhuda College face similar difficulties. Indeed, about ten thousand villagers of ten villages, including farmers, students and traders, have little choice but to brave the shako as the most practical way to cross the river.

Farmers and traders meanwhile, face the added hurdle of either trying to transport goods via the shako or, for larger cargo loads, using a circuitous seven-kilometre route to and from Kotchandpur Bazar.

"I cannot always respond to the call of patients," says village doctor Eakub Ali of Gourinathpur village. "It's tough to cross the shako with a bicycle."

Were a permanent roadway bridge to be constructed, the long-term suffering of villagers and students would be alleviated, and the distance for cargo to travel to Kotchandpur Bazar would be reduced to five kilometres.

Moreover, with the simple reality that if any student crossing the shako slips or the shako breaks underfoot, the mishap could well be fatal, the safety of a road bridge is a matter of urgency.

"I have contacted the concerned authorities about the need for a bridge here," says the local union chairman Shahjahan Ali, "I am trying to progress the matter with the support of a government lawmaker."

Engineer Jakaria Hossain, representative of the Local Government and Engineering Department in Moheshpur upazila which includes the river's southern bank, says letters forwarded to the concerned ministry about the issue have thus far had no effect. He hopes the local Member of Parliament will assist in raising the issue.