The bridge that collapsed before its inauguration at Basail in Tangail was not built even after 5 years. This has caused extreme anger among the locals. Due to the absence of the bridge, the suffering of the people of the neighboring 10 villages has increased several times. Before the inauguration, the project director ordered the contractor to rebuild the leaning bridge at Nirail area of the upazila at their own expense. But it never saw the light of day. Allegedly, the contractor got away with the connivance of the Basail Upazila project implementation officer. It can be seen on the surface, careless in Nirail area of Fulki-Fulbari road of Basail Upazila of Tangail! The bridge, which collapsed before the inauguration, is lying in neglect. It looks like the ruins of a cursed city. The complaints of the local residents have been repeated door to door to the public representatives, but no solution has been given regarding the bridge. According to the sources, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief has constructed a total of 128 bridges in 12 upazilas of Tangail district in the last fiscal year 2016-2017 with the aim of developing rural road communication system. M/s Abdullah Enterprises got the job of constructing a 60 feet long bridge in Nirail area of Fulki-Fulbari road in Fulki Union of Basail Upazila. The contractor completed the construction of the bridge at a cost of Tk 54 lakh. The bridge collapsed before its inauguration due to substandard construction materials.
At that time, when the news was broadcast in various media, the higher authorities instructed the contractor to rebuild the bridge at their own expense after the on-site investigation. After that, the contractor started to demolish various parts of the bridge in order to rebuild it. As part of this, the upper part of the bridge is broken and the rod is taken out. But then the contractor company did not rebuild the bridge and collected the bill after the work was completed. At that time, complaints were raised by the upazila project implementation officer. Sakhawat Hossain gave a report on behalf of the contracting company after receiving a bribe of seven lakh rupees. By doing this, the company dismantled the bridge and took away the used rods and concrete without completing the work again. Due to this, the suffering of the road users becomes extreme. Meanwhile, the people of at least 10 villages including Balia, Fulki, Fulbari, Baghil, Nirail are suffering due to the non-construction of the bridge in the Nirail area of Fulki-Phulbari road. A delirious patient has to travel 10 km by road to take him to the Upazila Health Complex. In this regard, Ravi Mia of Nirail area said, even if large vehicles could not move through the leaning bridge, ordinary people could cross. But now that the bridge has been destroyed, our woes have gone out even more. Our area is mainly agricultural area. Without the bridge, we also do not get fair price for agricultural produce. School student md. Ramim says, My sufferings know no bounds during the monsoon season. Many times our books and notebooks get wet while going to school. In this regard, the Chairman of Fulki Union. Samchul Alam (Biju) said, when the bridge was built, I was not the chairman. But I want a bridge to be rebuilt at that place for the benefit of the people of my area. For this I will make an application to the District Magistrate very soon. Basil Upazila Project Officer (PIO) to know about this. Sakhawat Hossain denied accepting bribe and said that the contractor did not rebuild the bridge knowing that it would cause them loss. Apart from this, the company has not taken up any project of bridge construction again at that place, he said. In this regard, Tangail District Commissioner Jasim Uddin Haider said, necessary measures will be taken after verifying corruption. Steps will be taken soon to rebuild the bridge for the convenience of the public.
