Connecting road to be built 7 years after bridge construction | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
July 10, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2025
Connecting road to be built 7 years after bridge construction

Infrastructure

Debashish Debu
13 December, 2022, 11:55 am
Last modified: 13 December, 2022, 12:00 pm

Related News

  • Restriction on tourist houseboats in some Tanguar Haor areas in Sunamganj
  • Jubo Dal leader killed in clash over land dispute in Sunamganj
  • BSF pushes in 70 more people through Sylhet, Sunamganj borders in one night
  • Surma riverbank erosion threatens lifeline in Sunamganj
  • Jubo League leader tied to pole and beaten over theft allegation in Sunamganj; video goes viral

Connecting road to be built 7 years after bridge construction

Debashish Debu
13 December, 2022, 11:55 am
Last modified: 13 December, 2022, 12:00 pm
The bridge on the Kalni River in Sunamganj was completed in 2015 but remained unused since then due to an absence of connecting roads. Photo: TBS
The bridge on the Kalni River in Sunamganj was completed in 2015 but remained unused since then due to an absence of connecting roads. Photo: TBS

The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) has taken an initiative to construct a 19-km road at Tk600 crore to make use of a bridge on the Kalni River in Sunamganj that was completed in 2015 at Tk22 crore, but has remained unused for not having a connecting road.

Earlier, the construction of this road was supposed to be financed by the World Bank, but due to the objection of the Department of Environment and the work not being completed on time, the World Bank withdrew the money.

Regarding this huge expenditure, the executive engineer of Sunamganj LGED office Md Mahbub Alam said the road will be built across the haor. So the plan has been made in such a way that there is no harm to the environment. Of the 19 km of road, 2.5 km will be a flyover.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

Apart from this, seven big bridges and some culverts will be constructed so that the water flow of haor is not obstructed. Some lands must also be acquired. Hence the cost seems high, he added.

However, the locals have questions about the need for this bridge and road. It is alleged that the bridge was built for political reasons.

"This bridge was built only to show off 'development' without any plan for the connecting road. It has been lying unused for a long time due to unplanned construction. Now it is planned to build a road at a huge cost to make it operational," said Taufiqul Islam, a local school teacher.

However, LGED officials said that if this road is constructed from Derai upazila town through Jagdal-Hosenpur to Kalkali in Jagannathpur, the road connectivity of Dhaka with Derai and Shalla will be more convenient. 

Besides, as this road is connected with the Dhaka-Sylhet highway at Aushkandi in Habiganj, the time will save two and a half to three hours for the residents of the two upazilas. Apart from this, direct road communication will be established with the upazila headquarters of one and a half lakh residents of East Derai on the east bank of the Kalni River.

According to LGED's Sunamganj office, the construction of this 210-metre-long and 6.10-metre-wide bridge started in 2013 at the initiative of the late Suranjit Sengupta, then Member of Parliament of Derai. 

However, Dirai Upazila Engineer Iftekhar Hossain said that some vehicles can travel through this bridge during the dry season as there is a road at the eastern end of the bridge that remains underwater most of the time. Small vehicles travel through this road and bridge when the water recedes during the dry season. 

Disagreeing with the engineer's claim, Zainal Abedin Sardar, a resident of East Dirai, said that the haor area is under water for eight months of the year. As a result, this bridge will be of no use to the people of the area. 

He said that if an all-weather road is constructed, this bridge will benefit the local people.

The construction of the link road was taken after the completion of the construction of the bridge. However, the construction got stuck due to complications related to land acquisition. Later, the Environment Department objected to about a 5 km area as it is within the haor. 

The Department of Environment said the road will harm the haor. So, the construction got stuck.

Golam Mawla, the project director of this road construction, said that a project proposal of Tk600 crore for the construction of the road was submitted to the Ministry of Local Government a few months ago but it has not yet passed from the ministry. Once approved, it will be transferred to the Ministry of Planning.

Bangladesh / Top News

Sunamganj / Kalni River / Connecting road

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • In terms of stream of education, girls maintained their excellence as well. Photo: TBS
    Lowest SSC pass rate in 17 years as nearly 600,000 students fail
  • BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir while speaking at a discussion at National Press Club on 10 July 2025. Photo: TBS
    'Backbone of economy will break': Fakhrul says govt should've worked seriously with more qualified people on US tariffs
  • The National Consensus Commission began at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital’s Bailey Road on 10 July 2025. Photo: Collected
    Chief justice appointment: Consensus reached on two key issues, says Ali Riaz

MOST VIEWED

  • Graphics: TBS
    BB raises startup fund limit, drops upper age barrier
  • Workers pack undergarments at the packing section of a garment factory in Ashulia, on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 19, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Fatima Tuj Johora
    After US tariffs, jobs hang by a thread in Bangladesh's garments sector
  • Global Islami Bank rectifies 2023 figures, reports Tk2,259cr loss instead of Tk128cr profit
    Global Islami Bank rectifies 2023 figures, reports Tk2,259cr loss instead of Tk128cr profit
  • Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur. TBS Sketch
    Audit reports of most banks contain cooked up data: BB governor
  • File photo of containers at Chattogram port/TBS
    US buyers push Bangladeshi exporters to share extra tariff costs
  • CA orders law enforcers to complete all election preparations by December
    CA orders law enforcers to complete all election preparations by December

Related News

  • Restriction on tourist houseboats in some Tanguar Haor areas in Sunamganj
  • Jubo Dal leader killed in clash over land dispute in Sunamganj
  • BSF pushes in 70 more people through Sylhet, Sunamganj borders in one night
  • Surma riverbank erosion threatens lifeline in Sunamganj
  • Jubo League leader tied to pole and beaten over theft allegation in Sunamganj; video goes viral

Features

Illustration: TBS

Behind closed doors: Why women in Bangladesh stay in abusive marriages

27m | Panorama
Purbachl’s 144-acre Sal forest is an essential part of the area’s biodiversity. Within it, 128 species of plants and 74 species of animals — many of them endangered- have been identified. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain/TBS

A forest saved: Inside the restoration of Purbachal's last Sal grove

37m | Panorama
Women are forced to fish in saline waters every day, risking their health to provide for their families. Photo: TBS

How Mongla’s women are bearing the brunt of rising salinity

22h | Panorama
Dr Mostafa Abid Khan. Sketch: TBS

Actual impact will depend on how US retailers respond: Mostafa Abid Khan

2d | Economy

More Videos from TBS

Islami bank aims to increase deposits to Tk 2 lakh crore by 2025

Islami bank aims to increase deposits to Tk 2 lakh crore by 2025

1h | TBS Programs
The two countries still face major challenges and mutual suspicions

The two countries still face major challenges and mutual suspicions

Now | Others
RMG sector braces for impact as US tariffs hit: Fakhrul

RMG sector braces for impact as US tariffs hit: Fakhrul

1h | TBS Today
Ex-IGP Mamun petitions to turn state’s witness

Ex-IGP Mamun petitions to turn state’s witness

1h | TBS Today
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net