The only bridge in the middle of a large crop field at Begungram, in Jindarpur union of Kalai upazila, Joypurhat, has lain broken for four years. It has cut the farmers of two villages off from their easy route to the fields, and hundreds of them face daily hardship moving their crops.

Local sources say the Joypurhat Water Development Board re-excavated the small rivers and canals of Jindarpur union in the 2021-22 financial year. Since then the flow of water has risen every monsoon. Continuous and excessive rain washed away the soil on both sides of the bridge, and at one point the middle section broke and fell. In four years neither the local LGED nor the union parishad has moved to rebuild it.

On a visit last Thursday, the approach roads on both sides were found broken into large holes and the middle of the bridge unusable. Farmers have built a makeshift crossing of bamboo and wood and cross at their own risk. Heavy farm machinery and crop-laden vans can no longer use the route, so growers carry their produce across on their heads.

Farmers say the cultivation of several hundred bighas in Begungram's western field depends on the bridge. With it, paddy, potatoes and other crops could be brought home easily; without it, both time and transport costs have gone up. They say they have raised the matter repeatedly with local representatives and the relevant offices without result.

Sizar Rahman, a farmer of Begungram, says that since the bridge broke he has to make a long detour to tend his paddy and potato fields, and bringing the harvest home costs extra. Abu Jafar, another farmer of the village, says the hardship grows in the monsoon, when the canal fills and reaching the land, irrigating or lifting the crop becomes very difficult.

Suman Kumar Debnath, engineer of the Kalai upazila LGED, says a proposal to build a new bridge for the farmers of the Begungram field has been sent to the authorities, and construction will begin quickly once an allocation is received.

Based on a report by Samakal's Joypurhat correspondent.

Source: Samakal