Abu Layes Lablu, Meherpur

Before the bridge under construction over the Bhairab River in Ujalpur of Meherpur Sadar Upazila was opened, the connecting road on its western side has collapsed and started disappearing into the river. Local farmers and locals have been suffering greatly due to this.

Many also fear that the bridge is under threat. It is learnt that the construction of the bridge over the Bhairab River behind his house at a cost of about 64 million taka was started around 2022 with the efforts of Imrul Kayes, a former cricketer of the national cricket team and a resident of Ujalpur village in Meherpur Sadar Upazila. The deadline for the construction of the bridge has expired long ago. However, even though the construction work is not completely completed, local people and vehicles have started moving. Locals complain that the connecting road was built on both sides of the bridge before the construction of the bridge. They have claimed that due to irregularities in road construction, a large part of the road has collapsed at several places on the western side of the bridge during the current monsoon season and is disappearing into the Bhairab River. Farmers in the area are the most affected by the collapse of the road.

They have to travel around Fatehpur village to bring and take various agricultural products, including jute. This has increased both additional time and transportation costs. Locals said that they have not been able to contact the bridge's contractor, Ratan Kushtia, for a long time. They fear that the main bridge may also be at risk due to the collapse of the connecting road in the middle of the monsoon season.

Locals demand that the damaged road be repaired quickly and the construction of the bridge be completed, and if there are any irregularities in the construction, action should be taken after investigating them.