Hardinge Bridge: A wonderful engineering work
Hardinge Bridge is a steel railway bridge over the river Padma located at Paksey in the administrative district of Pabna. It is named after Lord Hardinge, who was the Viceroy of undivided India from 1910 to 1916. Trains started moving on it in 1915 (precisely on 15th March).
But the 5,900 feet long bridge will have to be abandoned by the end of 2030, because the railway engineers and experts have opined that the bridge can weigh another 15 years though the construction farm predicted 100 years permanence for it. In that sense, the bridge has done its job for a full century and it is expected to do so for another 2 or 3 decades more.
However, to keep the communication uninterrupted and unhindered, a new railway bridge will have to be built on the either side of the present one. The British Engineers constructed this bridge on the river Padma at Paksey in two years time from 1910. The people of Paksey, Rooppur, Ishurdi, Shahpur, Bherapara and from far and near were eagerly waiting when the train would cross the river through this bridge. At last that auspicious day arrived and it was 15th March, 1915.
The Hardinge Bridge is unique in its design, perhaps best in the world. It has two-lane broad gauge lines and a steel footpath separated from the railway lines. One can go to the other side of the river riding on his bi-cycle.
The British engineers left marks of skillness and dexterity, and theoretical knowledge about railway bridge engineering. One span was fully damaged and another partially during the War for Independence of Bangladesh in 1971. The Indian railway engineers repaired these two spans successfully which also represented their craftsmanship.
Many of us, now in our late 60s, will not survive till 2030 because man is mortal. It means that we shall not be able to witness construction of a giant bridge like the Hardinge Bridge, but we hope that those who will rule the country at that time will not compromise and go ahead.
Ameer Hamzah
Dhaka
