Thousands suffer as bridge lies incomplete halfway

Thousands of people of Patuakhali Sadar and Galachipa upazilas are suffering as a 12.50-kilometre-long road, completed three years ago, cannot be opened for vehicular movement due to non-completion of a girder bridge for three years.

Patuakhali LGED (Local Government Engineering Department) constructed the road from Patuakhali Sadar upazila to Badura Bazar under Galachipa upazila to ease road communication in the area.

But the road cannot be opened for traffic as a girder bridge on Muchir canal at Auliapur in Patuakhali Sadar upazila is still incomplete.

Construction firm Sumi Enterprise was given the work order to build the 30-metre-long bridge, but left the work halfway three years ago.

This correspondent tried to contact Nazma Rahman, the contractor, but she did not receive calls over cell phone.

Sources said the firm lost interest to complete the work due to price hike of construction materials.

Md Altaf Hossain alias Shah Alam Sharif, chairman of Auliapur union parishad, said the authorities should take immediate steps to complete the bridge to mitigate sufferings of several thousand people of Patuakhali Sadar and Galachipa upazilas.

Abu Saleh Md Hanif, executive engineer of Patuakhali LGED, said, "We have already cancelled the work order of the bridge although 48 percent of it was completed. Re-tendering is under process to complete the bridge construction and we hope that the road will open by this year."