River eats up approach road of Charabari Bridge, leaving lakhs of people disconnected

The approach road to the Charabari Bridge in Tangail Sadar has gone into the gorge of the Dhaleshwari River early morning today (10 July) leaving lakhs of people from five unions disconnected in Tangail Sadar upazila. 

"Recent rain and strong currents have caused the embankment to collapse. Since this is an important road, necessary measures will be taken quickly to stop the collapse," Md Tofazzal Hossain Khan Tofa, chairman of Tangail Sadar Upazila Parishad, told The Business Standard.

He added, "There are also plans to make a permanent solution there. I have just taken charge of the Upazila Parishad. This road is a crucial communication link for people in the five unions of western Tangail. I am looking into this matter with importance."

Meanwhile, locals allege that the erosion is owed to illegal dredging in the river.

The damaged road was connected to the bridge over the Dhaleshwari River in Charabari, Torabganj.

According to the locals, in 2006, the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) constructed the 170.642-meter-long bridge over the Dhaleshwari River at Charabarighat on the Tangail-Torapganj Road for the movement of people from the Char areas of Katuli, Hugra, Kakua, Mahmud Nagar, and Vardra unions of Nagarpur in Sadar Upazila.

Since its construction, illegal dredging has caused the approach roads on both the eastern and western banks to collapse several times during the monsoon seasons, locals said. 

Although the LGED temporarily restored communication with the help of locals by using sandbags and iron plates, the problem persisted.

Humayun Kabir, a CNG driver on this road, said, "Both in the dry and monsoon seasons, illegal dredging on both sides of the bridge causes damage to the road on a regular basis, resulting in extreme suffering for people. We demand prompt action on this issue."

Auto-rickshaw driver Hasmat Karim said, "For the past few days, the collapse was gradually worsening. This morning, I saw it had completely collapsed when I came with passengers. After dropping off the passengers, I saw the extent of the damage. If no alternative arrangements are made soon, we will not be able to operate our vehicles."

Md Fazlur Rahman, an engineer at the upazila LGED, said, "I visited the site with the upazila chairman. The road will be repaired soon. The Water Development Board has been informed of the issue."

Md Sajjad Hossain, executive engineer of the Water Development Board, Tangail, said, "Engineers have been sent to the site. Additionally, since the road falls under LGED, their engineers have been informed. Necessary steps will be taken promptly to alleviate the suffering."