TA Panna, Roving Correspondent

In 1889, the then undivided Government of India proposed the construction of a bridge over the Padma River to facilitate Kolkata's connectivity with Assam, Tripura, Nagaland and North Bengal.

When the Siliguri meter gauge railway was established in 1890, rail, ferry and steamers began to run between Sabaranghat on one bank of Pramatta Padma and Damukdia Ghat on the other bank in Pakshi.

After that, an attractive double storey bungalow was built on the banks of the Pakshi Padmanadi for the famous personalities of the engineering world and British engineers Robert William Gales and Francis Spin. Sitting in this building, they completed the final design of the Hardinge Bridge.

Later in 1908, after getting permission to build the bridge, the British engineer Sir Robert Gales took responsibility for the construction of the bridge. In 1909, the survey for the construction of the bridge was started. In 1910-11, dams were constructed to protect bridges on both banks of the Padma. In 1912, the construction of the guide bank of the bridge began.

Along with this, the construction of the girder of the bridge started. Then wells were dug to construct the girders of the bridge. 24 thousand workers worked tirelessly for 5 years and completed the construction of the bridge in 1915. The then Viceroy was Lord Hardinge.

The bridge was named Hardinge Bridge after him. The construction cost of the bridge is 3 crore 51 lakh 32 thousand 1 hundred and 64 taka. The length of the bridge is 5 thousand 8 hundred feet. The bridge has 15 spans. The bridge is situated on the river Padmani at the Ishwardi Bheramara border. The final decision to build the bridge was made in 1910. Later, based on their design, the company named Brains Walty and Cream started the construction of the railway bridge on the Pakshi Padma river. Sitting in the bungalow, he devised the design survey and construction technique for the Hardinge Bridge.

The bungalow has also stood witness to the times. It can easily attract local and foreign tourists. But at that time controlling the speed of Padma was a very difficult task. In doing this difficult work, the world's first river training and guide dams were constructed on both banks of the Padma. The work of the railway bridge started in 1912 by tying the guide bank from about 8 km upstream. Then construction of span in soft alluvium was another difficult task. Spans are installed by digging wells at a depth of 190 to 160 feet below the river bed.

Thus the 5 thousand 894 feet long railway bridge was constructed on 15 spans of 52 feet height each and land spans of solid structure on both sides, which today stands as an immortal feat. However, to get the recognition of any immortality, the first thing that is needed is the final calculation and impossible plan.

On January 1, 1915, an engine carrying some freight carriages crossed the bridge experimentally. It is known that a train driver named Sona Mia crossed the bridge with the first engine. Then on March 4, 1915, the then Vice Lord Hardinge officially inaugurated the largest railway bridge of that time. Since then, the first double line rail bridge was named Hardinge Bridge.

Apart from the two-story attractive bungalows of British engineers Robert William Gales and Francis Sping, Pakshi Divisional Office, Railway Colony, Abdus Satta Auditorium, Hospital and many others were built in Pakshi area. At the same time, Krishna Chura trees were planted around the divisional office in the entire railway town. The age of the trees would be approximately contemporary with the Hardinge Bridge. Every year the red Krishnchudra flowers make the area attractive. Jakhub easily attracts people of all ages.

A train-engine of the first narrow gauge opened in 1889 AD on the Rupsa-Bagerhat section and part of the bomb dropped on the Hardinge Bridge during the War of Independence in 1971 are kept, which continue to carry the history of the railways and the liberation war. In short, the office is also attractive to the visitors due to its placement in front of the railway divisional office. Just 5 days before the victory, on 11 December 1971, the twelfth span was hit by an Indian Air Force bomb that twisted and fell into the Padma River, and the bottom of the ninth span was severely buckled. As a result the communication of South Bengal with North Bengal was severed.

After achieving the final victory, the World Organization responded by restoring communication systems in devastated Bangladesh. The British and Indian governments quickly repaired the Hardinge Bridge. On October 12, 1972, rail traffic resumed through the Hardinge Bridge.

The bungalow is known as 'Gele Kuthi' after William Gayle. Sitting in this bungalow, he developed the design survey and construction technique of Hardinge Bridge. The bungalow has also stood witness to the times. It can easily attract local and foreign tourists. Another heritage of Pakshi, a railway division town, is the narrow gauge railway.

Broad gauge and meter gauge of railways are very familiar to the present generation. Once there were meter gauge and small narrow gauge railways in this country. Narrow gauge railways and steam locomotives can be seen in front of Pakshi Railway Division office. All of them have stood the test of time. Chandraprabha Vidyapeeth is also seen in Pakshi. Many geniuses including India's famous poet Shankha Ghosh were trained in this school.

If you visit this ancient school of learning, the doors of memory will open at the entrance of the 21st century and take you to the beginning of the 20th century. On the other hand, in the nine months of the liberation war in 1971, the people of the neighboring villages used to listen to the news of the liberation war on the BBC's Bengali program at Kashem Mollah's tea shop on the same floor of Rooppur Bazar. Since then the market is still known as BBC market. Also Pakshi Divisional Office of Bangladesh Railway, destroyed North Bengal Paper Mill, EPZ and historic India Furfura Khanka Sharif, Railway Police Line, Army Beige Camp, Pakshi College and Pakshi Resort. Rooppur Atomic Power Station, Bangladesh Sugarcrops Research Institute BSRI, Ishwardi EPZ, Ishwardi Railway Junction, etc.

Also worth seeing is the Bheramara 60 MW Power Plant, the largest Ganga-Kapotaksha GK Irrigation Project in the Asian continent. Hardinge Bridge is located in Pakshi Union under Ishwardi Upazila. Hardinge Setu is a traditional structure of Ishwardi Upazila. The bridge is located on Padma River in Pakshi Union about 8 km south of Ishwardi Upazila Sadar. Pakshi's green countryside is a picnic corner far away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It's not just for picnics, it's the name of real history for thousands of tourists and British engineers. This name is associated with pure joy and entertainment.

This Pakshi picnic corner is known to the people of Bangladesh and abroad as a memorial to the work of British engineer Robert William Gales, the embodiment of nature. There is a large crowd here in the winter season and in other seasons of the year as well. Located 8 km south of Ishwardi town at the foot of the historic Hardinge Bridge in Pakshi Union and on the banks of Pramatta Padma river is the small green town called Pakshi. Pakshi city is located on about 3 thousand acres of land.

The small steam engine kept in front of the divisional office takes tourists, especially children, from far and wide. While flying in the green surroundings of Pakshi, you will feel like a bird's nest surrounded by greenery, the football field in the middle and the Hardinge bridge will be like a wooden bridge for the birds to walk on. All the entrances to the city of Pakshi are covered with some kind of craftsmanship.