C T Online Desk: Boalkhali-Kalurghat Bridge Implementation Council has demanded to start the construction of Kalurghat Bridge within the next six months.This demand was announced at a press conference organized on the occasion of Boyalkhali-Kalurghat Bridge Implementation Council at Chittagong Press Club on Sunday (June 30) morning.The council leaders urged the government to pay utmost attention to the construction of Kalurghat Bridge with the same importance as Padma Bridge.Abdul Momin, convener of Boalkhali-Kalurghat Bridge Implementation Council, said that a progress has been made in the construction of Kalurghat Bridge, one of the life demands of the people of South Chittagong.
The latest progress, including the signing of the loan agreement with South Korea on June 27, is the result of continuous efforts of the last decade, with which people from all walks of life, including the Boalkhali-Kalurghat Bridge Implementation Council, are connected. The construction of the bridge should start within the next six months, i.e. within the current year, after the approval of ECNEC, tenders and other related processes.
Abdul Momin said that after bringing forward the demand of the bridge, the government also noticed the matter. In the last 10 years, we have come to know about several rounds of funding discussions, planning and various steps in this regard at the government level with the help of the media and through our internal communication.
But still the process of construction of the bridge was stalled due to repeated unseen reasons. Somewhere or the other the issue of fulfilling the demands of our lives was caught in the web of invisible threads.
For the past one year, the bridge has been closed for vehicular traffic due to renovation works. There have already been several incidents of people losing their lives trying to cross by ferries. In addition, it is worth mentioning how many tragic experiences people have faced by being trapped in Kalurghat Bridge, how many pregnant women, how many critically ill patients have lost their lives, from which the people of Boalkhali-Patia have not yet been freed.
Mustafa Naeem, Joint Convenor of Boalkhali-Kalurghat Bridge Implementation Council, said that people living in South Rangunia have to travel about 64 miles to come to Chittagong. If the Kalurghat bridge is built, the distance will be reduced by at least 40 miles. Moreover, if the Kalurghat bridge is implemented, the road distance with Bandarban will also be reduced by 20 km. Apart from this, agriculture-based economic zone will also be developed in South Chittagong.
Member Secretary of the organization Ramen Dasgupta said that the activities of Boalkhali-Kalurghat Bridge Implementation Council started in the beginning of 2014. It was through this that the demand for the bridge first came to the fore. Final progress has been made in the construction of the much awaited Kalurghat Bridge with the signing of the agreement.
