The people of seven char unions of sadar upazila in Chapainawabganj district can now breathe a sigh of relief, as their dream of a bridge connecting the two parts of char areas and the town is now a reality. The Sheikh Hasina bridge on the Mohananda River at Shaheber Ghat of Sadar upazila in Chapainawabganj opened to traffic on May 16, 2015.

After inauguration, several hundred people, including children and women of different areas in district gathered on both sides of the bridge. When this correspondent visited the bridge area on Sunday afternoon, he found several hundred people gathered at the bridge area. The bridge has instantly become a place of congregation. Street vendors have been drawn in by the crowds of people, and there are makeshift stalls selling chatpoti, tea and street foods. At afternoon, the whole place becomes festive. The refreshing environment of the bridge area can easily lift one's spirits, said Modhusudan Bhaskar of Mistrypara in town. According to some visitors, there are no places in town for recreation, so people gather at the bridge area now. Chapainawabganj Shishu Park, the lone park meant for children's recreation in the town, has been in an awful state for years. Therefore people have no option to visiting any place for recreation, especially women and children.

Construction work of the bridge has been completed at a cost of Tk 49.79 crore, according to sources. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the bridge on May 16. Earlier, she laid the foundation stone of the bridge on April 23, 2011. Rafiqul Islam, a primary school teacher of Chataidubi village under Islampur union said, "I come to school every day from the village home crossing the Mohananda River. The newly built bridge has changed my life." Monirul Islam, businessman of Charbagdanga village said, "We are proud that the bridge is finally a reality. Farmers will be able to take the opportunity to sell their product in town easily now."

Alamgir Kobir, Chairman of Narayanpur union said, "We are happy that the bridge is open and now people are using it regularly. Thousands of char people are benefited." Officials of the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) sources said the construction work of the bridge was completed on March 31, 2015. The bridge is 546.60 metre long and 8.10 metre wide, with 2,400 metres of approach road on both sides and two more 45 metre and 48 metre long small bridges on approach roads. There are 13 spans of the bridge, which are 42 metres long each. Navana Construction Limited built the bridge under supervision of LGED. It was scheduled to be completed in September, 2013, but the construction time was extended, sources said. "A dream has come true for the people of seven unions," said A N M Wahiduzzaman, upazila engineer of LGED of sadar upazila.

Around 5 lakh people of seven unions - Islampur, Devinagar, Charbagdanga, Shahjahanpur, Alatuli, Narayanpur and Sundarpur of Sadar upazila in Chapainawabganj, mostly comprising char areas, who did not have means of proper communication now have easy access to upazila and district headquarters, according to LGED of Chapainawabganj. LGED officials said, there are 85 government and non-government primary schools, 20 high schools, 10 dakhil madrasas, two colleges and a number of NGO offices in these char areas. Prior to the opening of the bridge, about 15 to 20 thousand people of the unions crossed the river by boat every day to visit the district headquarters.

Eighty percent of cultivable land of these unions is covered by mango orchards. Besides, different types of crops, including vegetables, are grown in abundance in the areas, but farmers do not get fair prices as they cannot market them due to lack of communication facilities, said locals. Abdul Odud, lawmaker of Chapainawabganj-3(sadar) constituency and general secretary of district unit Awami League said, "We have a plan to establish a park near the bridge for people's recreation. I placed a request for it to the Prime Minister during her visit on May 16. I hoped she will talk with the concerned ministry for establishing a park."