Thousands of people including students are badly suffering as an under construction bridge over a canal near GK High School on Nijgalua-Pakapul road in Rajapur upazila under the district has remained incomplete for years.   

The work of the bridge started in 2011 and supposed to be finished within 2012 at a cost of Tk 43.38 lakh financed by Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) but the contractor constructed only one pillar on its east side in last four years, said Md Lutfur Rahman, upazila engineer of LGED.

"There was an iron bridge over the canal and we people of eight villages could use it to cross the canal for connecting with the upazila town. But at the time of starting the new construction, the contractor of demolished it, ignoring our request," said Nayon, a businessman of the area.  

A good number of students of Galua Primary School and GK High School situated beside the bridge have to cross the canal to attend classes.

As a temporary arrangement, locals have made a sako (a narrow bridge made of bamboo and wood) over the canal.

"One of my classmates got injured and all his books were lost in the canal water as he fell from the sako recently," said Nayem, a Class V student of the primary school.

A few days ago, a middle aged woman fell off the sako and it caused serious injures to her waist, said Md Abul Hossain, senior teacher of GK High School.

"Often we have to arrange bamboo and betel-nut trees to repair the sako. Some physically challenged students of our school regularly cross the sako with the help of others," he added. 

Women, patients and children are the worst sufferers due to lack of a concrete bridge over the canal.

"I sent  a letter to the construction firm several times for quick construction of the bridge but they did not pay heed," said the LGED engineer.

Jahangir Hossen, the contractor of the bridge, said, "I could not finish the construction for some reasons. I will finish it within a very short time."