Sirajganj, July 12 (bdnews24.com)—Communication minister Syed Abul Hossain said Sunday that the Jamuna Bridge was "safe for the next 100 years".
But he was at odds with water resources minister Ramesh Chandra Sen over the breach of the Sirajganj flood protection barrier.
He accused local authorities of failing to make essential repairs to vulnerable stretches of the town's flood defences and turning a blind eye to illegal extraction of sand near the embankment.
Sen, on the other hand, had said the day before that Korean construction giant Hyundai would face "legal action" for failing to live up to its contractual obligations.
Md Abul Kalam Azad, director general of the Bangladesh Water Development Board, had earlier blamed "flaws in design or construction" for the break in the flood barrier that threatened Sirajganj town.
The embankment was also reportedly guaranteed "for 100 years".
'Bridge in sound condition'
Both ministers, however, agreed the bridge was safe.
"Jamuna Bridge is in sound condition and the guide embankment is not at risk either," said Hossain during a tour of the bridge and Sirajganj town's flood defences.
He said the previous day's reports in the media that cast doubts on the structural integrity of the Jamuna Bridge were "inappropriate"
Hossain said the condition of the bridge had always been regularly monitored.
"The Jamuna Bridge is not at risk from heightened water levels in the river, although Sirajganj town remains under threat," said Hossain.
He said the Jamuna Bridge was capable of sustaining "ten times the damage" recently experienced in Sirajganj.
Water board chief Md Abul Kalam Azad was the one who said the Jamuna Bridge was under threat from the heavily rain-swollen river, that had breached a 600-foot stretch of the Sirajganj flood barrier.
Visiting the site of the breach, Azad had said, "The guide embankment of the Jamuna Bridge is also under threat. The west bank of the bridge is at great risk."
"The current and characteristics of the Jamuna river are quite unpredictable. A '100-year guaranteed' embankment has been breached at one of its strongest points," said Azad.
Azad later came under fire from the water resources minister Ramesh Chandra Sen for his comments.
During his own visit to the Sirajganj breach site, Sen told the WDB chief that the latter should not have said the bridge was "at risk" from rising waters, which immediately led to screaming headlines in the media.
bdnews24.com/corr/srn/am/rah/0025h
