The 150-feet-long bamboo bridge over the Battier Canal near Janta Bazar under the Kamalnagar upazila in Lakshmipur is in a deplorable state, putting people in severe inconvenience.

Locals say students of the nearby five schools and especially old people face an unimaginable ordeal during the rainy season.

Five years ago, Char Kalkini Union Parishad had built the bamboo bridge. Local people have alleged that even though they wanted a concrete bridge, the Union Parishad had built the bamboo structure across the canal.

 During a recent visit to the bridge, this correspondent found that people from Char Kalkini were crossing it with rice, groundnut, and soybeans. This area is particularly known for its agricultural produce.  

Reaz Bandary alleged that the local public representatives did not bother to look into their problems, and, as a result, they were facing extreme difficulties.

Even though the authorities know that there are five schools—Motirhat High School, Char Kalkini Miah Para Government Primary School, the K Alam Government Primary School, South Martin Hajipara Nuruani Madrasa and Nasirganj Kawmi Madrasa — in Char Kalkini, they have not paid attention to the students’ problems and repaired the bridge.

Sirajul Islam, a local businessman, said: “A number of school students fell down and suffered injuries while crossing the bamboo bridge. Farmers are unable to take their agricultural produce for sale on time due to the poor communication.”

 Arafat and Nusrat, students of Motirhat High School, said: “We are scared of crossing the bridge as it is in a shambles. As there’s no other way to go to our school, we walk very slowly over the bridge and it sometime takes 30 minutes to cross it. We urge the authorities concerned to build a permanent bridge.”

 Local villagers have also written to the Kamalnagar upazila administration, asking them to build a proper bridge at the earliest.