Sand lifting threatens 2 Thakurgaon bridges
Lifting of sand from Tangon River in Thakurgaon town continues to pose a threat to the concrete bridge, only 100 yards away.Photo: STAR
Ignoring threat to two important bridges over Tangon River in Thakurgaon town, contractors allegedly with the consent of the district administration are extracting sand from the river about 100 yards from the bridges to fill up the premises of an under-construction Liberation War memorial. Vacuum in the river bed, caused by the sand lifting, poses threat to the concrete bridge that serves as link between the district headquarters with four upazilas, said experts and local people. A century-old iron bridge near Art Gallery More in the town is also affected due to the callous act, they said. During a visit on Saturday morning, this correspondent saw sand lifting was going on from the Tangan River, around 100 yards from the middle of the concrete bridge with a local made dredger. The district administration took initiative to build a Liberation War memorial on the bank of Tangon River near Art Gallery More in Thakurgaon municipality area with the help of local NGO Eco Social Development Organisation last year. Water Resources Minister Ramesh Chandra Sen laid the foundation stone of the memorial on March 26 last year. Following allocation of 16 tonnes of rice meant for Test Relief to fill up the premises of the monument, Mahmud Hasan Raju, convener of a 'project committee', started filling up the ground with a local made dredger a few days ago. When contacted, Raju said, "We are extracting sand from the river with a light dredger with the consent of the district administration. It will not harm the bridge as we dug only five feet deep." Replying to a query he said the sand lifting work is going on under a project committee and he is the convener of it. But he failed to tell who the other members of the committee are. Nejarat Deputy Collector Aslam Mollah told this correspondent, "We told the contractors to take sand from the upper portion of the river." When contacted, Sub-Divisional Engineer of Roads and Highways Department Jahid Hossain said over cell phone, "I am not yet aware of the matter. The pillars of the concrete bridge might be affected if sand lifting creates a hole near the bridge. It may also affect embankments of the river. We will see the matter." It would better to fill up the premises of the monument by bringing sand from the river manually instead of dredging, he added.
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