Villagers voluntarily build nine bamboo bridges in Lalmonirhat

At their own initiative, local people have built nine bamboo bridges on flood-damaged roads at four villages of the Teesta river shoal in Kaliganj upazila of the district.

The bamboo bridges are 100 metres to 150 metres in length. Some residents at the villages have given bamboos and money to build the bridges.

The houses of the flood-affected people living in the river's shoal areas have been submerged for over a month from June.  The floodwaters have also destroyed crops and caused extensive damage to village roads.

The villagers have demanded immediate renovation of the damaged rural roads to ease their sufferings.

Locals said many big potholes have developed on the rural roads in different areas due to flood, causing immense sufferings to the char people. As a result, their clothes have got wet by waters when they have to walk through the flood-damaged village roads to go to the mainland.

The local administration is yet to repair the damaged rural roads even after a few weeks of receding of floodwaters. Finding no other alternative, local people, at their own initiative, have built the bamboo bridges on the flood-damaged roads at Milon Bazar, Rudreshwar, Bagerhat and Ichli villages in Kakina union of Kaliganj upazila.

Safiur Rahman, a 58-year-old farmer from Milon Bazar village, said they are in dire straits as the village road was damaged by the floodwaters. As the local administration do not take any initiative to repair the damaged road, the villagers voluntarily built a bamboo bridge. The villagers donated money for construction of the bridge.

Saifur further added that now only bicycles and rickshaws can ply the bamboo bridge. As heavy vehicles cannot ply the makeshift bridge, it is extremely difficult for them to take the agricultural products to the market.

Nazrul Islam, a 60-year-old farmer of Rudreshwar village, said the floodwaters had washed away three parts of road in their village. The villagers have built bamboo bridges on their own initiative as local administration did not take any initiative to repair the damaged road. The local administration even did not provide them any assistance in building the bamboo bridge.

Another farmer Arman Ali, 55, from Bagerhat village in the upazila said they have built the bamboo bridge on their own initiative but the damaged roads needed to be repaired immediately for permanent solution for their communication. The villagers may fall down at any time at the time of crossing the makeshift bridge.

Jamsher Ali Munshi, 65, a farmer from Ichli village, said they had built the bamboo bridge on self-help basis and it is a temporary solution. 

He has urged the authorities concerned to repair the flood-damaged roads and bridges in the area immediately, considering people's sufferings.

Kaliganj Upazila Project Implementation Officer (PIO) Ferdous Ahmed told The Daily Star that a list of village roads and other infrastructures damaged by the floods has been sent to the higher authorities for renovation.

They will start the renovation work as soon as they will get fund, said the PIO.