Bangamata Bridge puts end to the suffering of millions, brings new hope  

Mazaharul Islam, a private job holder of a multinational company, had to urgently travel to Pirojpur on Friday night. 

After finishing the task at hand, he started for Barishal from Pirojpur at around 1am on Saturday in his own car.

However, his journey was abruptly interrupted as there were no ferries available at Pirojpur Sadar's Bekutia Ferry Ghat. 

Mazaharul, in a desperate attempt to cross the River Kacha, had to take a 15km drive from Bekutia to Charkhali to catch another ferry.

He finally reached Barishal at around 5:30am – a journey that was supposed to take no more than an hour.

Just like Mazaharul, millions of passengers on this route had to face this ordeal, if not something worse, on a regular basis for years on.

However, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina declaring open the much-desired "Bangamata Begum Fazilatun Nesa Mujib 8th Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge" over River Kacha on Sunday, the curtain falls on years of suffering and agony endured by the people of the country's southwestern region

The construction of the 1,493-metre bridge has materialized the dream of millions of people in the country's southwestern region, establishing uninterrupted road connectivity between Khulna and Barishal divisions.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the bridge joining a function through a virtual platform from her office here in the capital.

 Construction work on the bridge started on 1 November, 2018.

The Roads and Highways Department constructed the bridge at a cost of Tk894.08 crore.

The Chinese government provided Tk654.80 crore as project assistance for the bridge while the Bangladesh government shared Tk239.80 crore.

The bridge has established road connectivity between Pirojpur and Dhaka. 

It has also helped establish direct road connectivity among Kuakata Sea beach, Payra deep sea port, Mongla seaport and the country's largest land port Benapole.

The much-awaited bridge is expected to help develop the businesses and industries which are based in Barishal, Jhalakathi and Pirojpur at a rapid pace. 

"I cannot explain how happy I am as the bridge has been declared open today (4 September) as I often need to travel to Khulna from Barishal. 

"I had to wait long hours for crossing the river," said Atikul Islam, a government employee of Barishal who works in Khulna, while expressing gratitude to the premier and Fisheries and Livestock Minister and local MP SM Rezaul Karim

Said Jahid Hasan, a shopkeeper at the ferry Bekutia Ferry Ghat, said, "Though we will be losing our customers it is indeed a joyful occasion. The bridge will allow our kids to be able to study in well-known schools and colleges." 

"We always had to be on the clock to catch the ferry which resulted in a number of accidents. Now [with the bridge opening for use] we can drive smoothly, without any unnecessary tension," said Milon Molla, a bus driver on the route.

"The bridge has also made communication easy with Kolkata in India for the people living in this area. All of south and its people will greatly benefit from the bridge," he added. 

Speaking with The Business Standard, Amanur Rahman, MD of Fortune Group (Barishal), "I need to go to Khulna at least once every week for work. The custom commissioner's office for this region is located in Khulna. 

"All Barishal businessmen are bound to go to Khulna for tax and vat related works. This bridge has cut down travel time and will definitely help our businesses to grow."