Sand lifting threatens bridge

The unbridled lifting of sand and that too within 50 metres from a crucial bridge on Thakurgaon-Patiadangi road in Thakurgaon Sadar upazila by a local political party leader is a classic case of strong arm tactics where authorities seem powerless to act. Although the executive engineer of the LGED has pointed out that they do not allow extraction of sand 100 metres of a bridge, this activity is going on without giving two hoots to the damage being caused to the concrete pillars that hold up the bridge.

When profits meet power, unscrupulous activity like this goes on unabated, and with the dredger extracting sand at full swing, the fate of the bridge is anyone's guess. All that has happened by way of warning the public of the dangers posed is a few signboards designating it to be "risky". It is ironic that the local administration has not taken any action, particularly in light of the fact that the local contractor's claims that he has permission to do this work has been refuted by the Water Development Board authorities.

Local people's complaints to authorities have fallen on deaf ears since the group causing the havoc is a ruling party stalwart. Regardless of political connections, the act itself breaks more than one law and the administration must act, and decisively at that, before further damage is done to the bridge on Senua River which could be in real danger of collapse.