Wooden bridge collapse strands 50,000 in Narail, Jashore

Around 50,000 people across 16 villages in Narail and Jashore have been thrown into severe hardship after the collapse of the Afra wooden bridge, their only route across the river.

Nearly a month since the bridge went down, no effective steps have been taken to repair or rebuild it.

Local residents have been forced to cross the river by boat, taking their chances with the risk involved.

The Buribhairab River flows past Afra village in the Sadar Upazila's Sheikhhati Union, around 14km from Narail town.

Eight villages of Narail's Sheikhhati sit on the river's eastern bank, with eight villages of Jashore Sadar Upazila's Basundia Union on the western side.

The bamboo-and-timber Afra Bridge was once the only way to cross the river.

It was built in 2012 under the leadership of then Sheikhhati Union Counil chairman Selim Reza, through an initiative led by locals, who have repaired it themselves at different points since.

Countless students, labourers, farmers and residents on both banks relied on the bridge to cross the river.

Since its collapse, locals have arranged boats on their own to ferry people across.

A new bridge over the Buribhairab River, however, has been proposed, according to Sardar Ikramul Kabir, executive engineer of the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) in Narail.

Third-grade student Shah Md Shadat lives in Narail's Sheikhhati village and attends a school in Jashore's neighbouring Basundia area.

"I have to cross the river every day to get to school. There used to be a wooden bridge, but since it broke, I have to risk crossing by boat to reach school," Shadat said.

Sekela Begum and Meherun Nesa, residents of Afra village, said they need to cross the Buribhairab to reach the mill where they work.

With the wooden bridge in place earlier, they could work at the mill until 10pm or midnight and still make it home without trouble, moving about as they pleased.

Now, boats are not available after 8pm, forcing them to wrap up work early to make it back, they said.

Fakhrul Islam, another local, said: "Hundreds of people cross the Buribhairab's Afra Bridge every day to travel to Jashore, Nowapara, Khulna and other districts.

“Its collapse has caused us severe hardship. A quick rebuild would make a real difference to our daily commute."

Former union council chairman Selim said, "We built the wooden bridge with local residents back in 2012. Whenever it broke down at various points, we repaired it ourselves.

"Around 50,000 people across 16 villages in Narail and Jashore's two Upazilas relied on the Afra wooden bridge as their only route, and its collapse has led to serious hardship for local residents."

“No steps have been taken to repair it since it collapsed,” he added. “It's been lying broken for nearly a month now. Locals have arranged their own boat service to cross the river."

Asked about the issue, Narail LGED Engineer Kabir said: "A proposal to build a bridge has been made under the Narail District Development Project. Design work is under way.

“Once that's complete, tenders will be invited swiftly and construction will begin."