Remains of old bridge narrowing Sari river

The road that connects Bangladesh's Sylhet to Indian's Shillong through Jaintapur-Tamabil was constructed in 1932.

The next year, a bridge was constructed over the Sari river in Jaintapur upazila to finally establish connection between Sylhet and Shillong.

Decades later, in 2000, another bridge was constructed on the river and the older one was declared abandoned.

Although the archaeological heritage was supposed to be removed right after, it still stands still at the heart of the river as a major obstacle.

According to the National River Conservation Commission, at least 98 illegal structures, sand and sediments from the upstream are causing serious trouble to the river's navigability.

In addition to that, the ruins of the old bridge narrowing access of the road, right beside the new bridge.

However, the Water Development Board (WDB) said that they were not aware of any such obstacles.

Muhammad Shohiduzzhaman Sharker, executive engineer of WDB in Sylhet, said, "We generate and update list of any obstacles in every river, but we do not have any information of such obstacles in the Sari river."

"We will look into the matter now," he said.

Locals said the remaining structures of the old bridge are all visible during winter but during the rainy season, only parts of the ruins are visible.

Abdul Hye Al-Hadi, spokesperson of Sari Nadi Bachao Andolon, said, "Whenever a new bridge is constructed over a river, it is mandatory to completely remove the old bridge so that the river can flow accordingly. However, the authorities failed to follow that standard here."

Al-Hadi, also the chief coordinator of Save the Heritage and Environment, said, "These ruins posing serious threat to the river by blocking and narrowing down access. These must be removed without delay."

Mostafizur Rahman, executive engineer of Roads and Highways Department in Sylhet, said, "I am not sure whether the contractor of the new bridge or the RHD had responsibility to remove it. But I will look into the matter and will take initiative to remove them soon."