Decades on, Sujuni canal bridge remains a dream for 50,000 Jamuna Char residents

At least 50,000 people from four unions in two districts have been enduring hardship for nearly six decades for want of a bridge on the Jamuna's Char in Kazipur Upazila of Sirajganj.

The canal, called Sujuni, lies in West Kumariabari village of Monsurnagar Union.

Local residents say it is the only route to schools, colleges, hospitals, markets and government offices for residents of Monsurnagar and Chargirish in Kazipur, and the Pogaldigha and Satpoa unions in Sarishabari Upazila of Jamalpur.

With no bridge in 60 years, people on the western bank in particular suffer in both the monsoon and the dry season.

When it rains, ferry boats are the only way across, and they stop running by late afternoon.

Families then find themselves stuck in an emergency or when rushing a patient to hospital.

When the water dries up, there is no usable road along the riverbed, hampering the movement of farm produce and vehicles.

Manik Mia, a Kumariabari resident, said: “We need a bridge in the monsoon and repairs to the approach roads on both sides in the dry season. Water or no water, our hardship stays the same all year.”

A high school and a degree college stand on the eastern bank, forcing hundreds of students to make the risky crossing every day.

Nasima Begum, headteacher of M Monsur Ali Jatio High School in Chargirish, said: “Students suffer terribly during floods. There aren’t enough boats, so they can’t reach class on time.”

Sixth-grader Alia Khatun said students often miss classes when they fail to catch a boat. She said they want a permanent bridge to avoid the difficulties of crossing the canal during the rainy season.

Rezaul Karim Dulal, member of Ward No. 9 of the Monsurnagar Union Council, and former member Habibur Rahman said farmers on both banks struggle to move their crops. A bridge would let them send grain to markets across the country with ease.

Golam Kibria Tamal, engineer at the Sarishabari Upazila office of the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), said the canal falls within Kazipur's boundary, so there is no legal scope to build the bridge through Sarishabari.

Md Munsur Ahmed, LGED engineer in Kazipur, said a feasibility plan for a bridge over the Sujuni has been prepared and sent to higher authorities for approval.

Work will begin as soon as the project is cleared, he added.