'Rebuild Noyakandi bridge in Manikganj'
Hundreds agitate, block road
Locals block Dhaka-Singair-Manikganj Road at Nayakandi Bridge point yesterday demanding reconstruction of the concrete bridge that collapsed 15 years ago.Photo: STAR
Several hundred people blocked Dhaka-Singair-Manikganj road at Noyakandi Bridge point under Manikganj Municipality for more than an hour from 8:45am yesterday demanding reconstruction of the concrete bridge that collapsed 15 years ago. Following an accident at the bridge point at around 7:30am, leaving a rickshaw-puller critically injured, locals gathered there and blocked traffic on the road, iterating their demand for reconstruction of the bridge. On August 27, they took out a procession at Noyakandi, urging the authorities concerned to rebuild the bridge, but to no effect. The road blockade was withdrawn at 10:00 am when Manikganj Municipality Mayor Md Ramzan Ali assured the agitating people that he would immediately bring the issue to the authorities concerned. Noyakandi Bridge is very important as it links Manikganj with capital Dhaka via Hemayetpur and Singair. It also reduces 20-kilometre distance between Dhaka and Manikganj. Locals alleged that the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) did not take any initiative to rebuild the bridge. The RHD department only set up a bailey bridge on the collapsed one at that time, they said. Two vehicles from opposite directions cannot cross each other as the bridge is very narrow, resulting in huge traffic jam on both sides every day. Besides, vehicles including bus and truck often fall into the canal from both ends of the bridge because of steep slope. Contacted, Executive Engineer of Manikganj Roads & Highways Department Md Sobuj Uddin, who joined just four months ago, said he will try his best to get a work order for construction of the bridge soon.
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