Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque :
The Padma Bridge is now under construction to be completed very soon. What was perceived to be a distant dream is going to be a reality. At the level of development dialogue the feasibility was very much in question with massive cost involvement and foreign aid.
The Padma Bridge is a multipurpose road-rail bridge over the Padma River under construction in Bangladesh. Padma Bridge is the most challenging construction project in the history of Bangladesh. The two-level steel truss bridge will carry a four-lane highway on the upper level and a single track railway on a lower level. With 150 m span, 6.150 km (20,180 ft) total length and 18.10 m width it is going to be the largest bridge in the Padma-Brahmaputra-Meghna River basins of country in terms of both span and the total length.
The project covers three districts -Munshiganj (Mawa Point/North bank), Shariatpur and Madaripur (Janjira/South bank). The total area of land to be acquired and required for its components is 918 hectares (2248.63 acre). The requisition of land for the construction yard will be for six years on a rental basis. As per the new design, an additional 144.04 ha (355.93 acre) has been identified for acquisition, bringing the total to 1062.14 hectares (2624.61 acre). This additional land is required because project site lost significant land due to erosion, for transition structures and due to a change in railway alignment.
After allegation of corruption by some people associated with project preparation the World Bank withdrew its commitment and other donors followed. However, the corruption allegations were subsequently found to be false and without merit and the Canadian Court subsequently dismissed the case. The project is now being funded from own resources of the Government of Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) invited the pre-qualification tender for the project in April 2010. Construction of the bridge was expected to commence by early 2011 and be ready for major completion in 2013 (and complete all sections by late 2015). The proposed Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project will provide direct connectivity between the central and southwestern part of the country through a fixed link on the Padma River at Mawa-Janjira points. The bridge will contribute significantly towards facilitating the social, economic and industrial development of this relatively underdeveloped region with a population of over 30 million. The area of influence of the direct benefit of the project is about 44,000 km (17,000 sq mi) or 29% of the total area of Bangladesh. Therefore, the project is viewed as very important infrastructure towards improving the transportation network and regional economic development of the country. The bridge has provisions for rail, gas, electric line and fibre optic cable for future expansion. The Bangladesh Bridge Authority is the executing agency of the project.
The construction of Padma Bridge is fast moving. It is a very positive side. It is possible that people on both sides of Padma can move very quickly. Eight people have been killed in lynching attacks in Bangladesh after false social media rumours claimed children were being abducted and sacrificed as offerings for the construction of a bridge. The victims include mother-of-two, Taslima Begum, who was beaten to death outside a school in Dhaka by a mob who believed she was involved in the kidnappings. A deaf man, who was visiting his daughter, was killed by vigilantes on the same day. Their deaths were sparked by rumours, spread mostly via Facebook, that children were being beheaded as offerings to fund what is set to be Bangladesh’s biggest bridge, south of the capital. Dhaka. Police Chief Javed Patwary confirmed none of the victims were involved in child abduction. “We have analysed every single case of these eight killings. Those who were killed by lynching mobs … no one was a child kidnapper,” he told reporters. Twenty-five YouTube channels, 60 Facebook pages and 10 websites have been shut down amid concerns surrounding the dissemination of false information on social media. Across the country, police have been ordered to monitor online platforms and issue public notices if misinformation is detected. More than 30 people were reportedly attacked over the rumours, which have been circulating for around two weeks. Eight people have been arrested over Ms Begum’s murder, including a 19-year-old man, who is the prime suspect, according to local media. He was allegedly seen beating Ms Bagum in a video that surfaced on social media.
Five people suspected to be involved spreading the rumours have been detained. Vigilante killings are not unusual in Bangladesh, but the latest mob lynchings have sparked concerns of growing lawlessness across the country. The Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, in a notice, urged the country people not to pay heed to the rumour about the need for a human sacrifice for the Padma Bridge project. The Ministry also said it has noticed that propaganda is being spread by a certain group.
(Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque, retired professor, Department of Public Administration, Chattogram University)
