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The Padma Bridge is no longer a dream, it is now real and visible. The main infrastructure of the bridge is visible through the installation of span 41 on Thursday. The installation work of span ‘two-F’ at piers No. 12 and 13 at the Mawa end of Munshiganj on the main river was completed at 12:02 pm. At this time, the project officials and employees and the locals were delighted. The people of Bangladesh are delighted with Padma’s victory covering the faces of the conspirators. Some expressed their enthusiasm by waving and waving the national flag.
The flags of Bangladesh and China were on either side of the last leg. Along with the red banner, written in Bengali, English and Chinese, “Padma’s bridge of dreams is a reality today in exchange for the work of local and foreign labor after many years of efforts. The 41 steel span of the bridge will keep the friendship between China and Bangladesh intact by connecting the northern and southern regions of Sonar Bangla.
With the installation of this section, the largest bridge in the country, 6.15 km long, was built over the Padma River. Connected are the Jajira ending of Mawa and Shariatpur. The world has witnessed that Bangladesh has been able to implement megaprojects worth Tk 30,193 crore without funding from donor agencies.
Now people are waiting for the moment when cars and trains start to circulate on this bridge. Abdul Jalil, a Khulna resident, who came to Mawa after crossing the Padma River at launch, said he had to go to Dhaka every month on business. It takes more time to cross the car on the ferry. So I crossed the Padma by boat or speedboat. It costs more, the road is shameful. He is counting the time when traffic will start on the bridge. Because if you drive over the bridge, you will be relieved of trouble. Some more users of this route made similar statements. The bridge authorities hope that if all goes well, the work will be completed in 10 to 12 months. If the work cannot be completed within that time due to coronavirus infection and natural disasters, it is planned to open in mid-2022. With the launch of this bridge, 3 million people from 21 districts, including Khulna divisions and Barisal, they will be able to travel to Dhaka easily and quickly. A floating crane with a span was seen coming very close to the ‘Tian-e’ pillar around 10:30 am on Thursday. Then the work of placing the span on posts 12 and 13 began. It ends at 12:02. Many people rent boats, trawlers, speedboats and gather near the bridge to watch the work of installing the last span. At that time members engaged in bridge security were patrolling the entire area with a few speedboats. The stretch discourages tens of thousands of people from approaching the placement site.
The Minister of State for Maritime Transport, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, was present while the assembly work of the section was carried out. He was inspecting the infrastructure activities of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) in Mawa and Kanthalbari. He also saw the scene of the last leg stopping when the reconnaissance ship ‘Baral’ that was carrying it stopped. After staying there for about half an hour, he went to the Kanthalbari ferry terminal.
According to the bridge authority, the span was placed near the designated pillar of the Mawa Construction Yard around 5.45pm Wednesday to continue work. Engineers and workers also completed anchoring work for the floating crane there. The crane that runs the span stays there all night. Due to this, it has been possible to start the installation works of the span from Thursday morning. The sources further said that the first span was sitting on the Padma bridge on September 30, 2016. Then, in 2016 four spans were installed, in 2019 14 spans were installed and in 2020 22 spans were installed. It took 36 months and 10 days from the first tranche to the end.
Meanwhile, after the installation of span 41, a press release issued by the bridges department Thursday afternoon said 1,333 of the 2,918 main bridge carriageway slabs and 1,942 of the 2,959 railway slabs were installed. 321 of the 474 super-beams have been installed on the Mawa and Jajira viaducts. Actual progress of the main bridge is 91 percent. The actual progress of the river management work is around 6 percent. 100 percent of the work on the road connecting Mawa and Jajira has already been completed. The approved cost of the Padma multipurpose bridge project is Tk 30,193 crore. The overall progress of the project is 72.50 percent.
Answers to all conspiracies Padma Bridge – Minister of Maritime Transport: The Minister of Maritime Transport, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, was on his way to the Kanthalbari Ferry Terminal under the Padma Bridge while laying the last span. In response to a question from reporters, the minister of state said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has responded to all conspiracies by building the Padma Bridge. By facing all the challenges, he has placed Bangladesh in a position of dignity in the world. It has taken Bangladesh to the heights of the world. He said that the Padma Bridge, the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, the Matarbari Deep Harbor, the four-lane and six-lane highway, the metrorail and the elevated highway are under construction. Bangabandhu connected North Bengal with the mainland by building a bridge. The Prime Minister is adding 21 districts of the southern region to the direct road network through the construction of the Padma Bridge. Subsequently, the Minister of State inspected the development activities of the Ilias Ahmed Chowdhury Ferry Ghat area of Kanthalbari.
Expectation of fast traffic: It was seen that when section 41 was being installed on pillars 12 and 13 of the Padma Bridge, the ferries, boats and speedboats of the Shimulia-Kanthalbari route were passing under the pillars a short distance from there . All the passengers on the ships watched the progress of the bridge work with curious eyes. If you want to know the reaction of many of them to the last leg, a resident of Bakerganj, Barisal. Chholeman Sardar said: “The sooner the traffic starts, the better for us.” At present you have to change cars twice and come to Dhaka. He said, first I came to Kanthalbari by car from Barisal, from there I went to Mawa by speedboat. Then you have to get back in the car to go to Dhaka. Said it is difficult to change the car twice, the quality of the local car is not good. If the bridge is opened, the cars will circulate directly, their quality will be better and the cost will be lower. Sharifuzzaman, a resident of Shibchar in Madaripur, said: “I come to Dhaka every week on business. The speedboat fare on the Shimulia-Kanthalbari route is fixed at Rs 120, but sometimes it is Rs 150 and Rs 200. We are held hostage by them. If the car is started on the bridge, the speedboat will be freed from this hostage situation. However, local hoteliers, speedboats, and boat owners and operators are upset by the progress of the bridge work. They said they would have no need once the traffic on the bridge started. The business will have to close.
Padma Bridge 2001-2020: On July 4, 2001, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone for the Padma Bridge. The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the bridge at the end of the 1996-2001 period. Although the Padma Bridge project was approved by ECNEC in 2006, several complications were created over and over again. This increases cost and time. When the project was approved by ECNEC in 2008, the cost was Tk 10,162 million rupees. Later, due to the design change and the increase in length, the expenditure in 2011 amounted to 20,507 million Tk. The current cost of the project is 30,193 million Tk. On the other hand, construction works for the Padma Bridge have been repeatedly delayed. The bridge was supposed to be launched in 2013 after the design was prepared. But due to the complexity of the World Bank, the work could not begin at that time. China Railway Bridge Engineering Company started construction works on the bridge on November 26, 2014. The company had signed an agreement to build the bridge in 48 months. Under the agreement, it was supposed to end on November 25, 2016. But 31 months ago in three phases is scheduled for June 30, 2021. However, the contractor said work on the Padma Bridge would be completed on 23 November. April 2022, citing various reasons, including the impact of the corona and recent flooding.
The Padma Bridge Failed to Stop the World Bank’s Objections: The construction of the Padma Bridge failed to stop the World Bank’s corruption conspiracy allegations. The Padma Bridge is now being built with its own funds. However, in 2011, the World Bank approved £ 120 million credit aid for the Padma Bridge project. The loan contract was signed with the World Bank on April 26 of that year. In the same year, loan agreements were signed with JICA on May 18, with the IDB on May 24, and with the ADB on June 6. In September of that year, the World Bank filed complaints of corruption at the Padma Bridge. He accused the then Communications Minister, Abul Hossain, and senior officials of his company, Saco, of soliciting bribes. After that accusation, the project manager, Rafiqul Islam, was removed from office at one stage. The Secretary for Bridges, Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, was transferred. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) formed an investigation team. However, in the last week of October 2012, donors, including the World Bank, were suspended for allegedly failing to take adequate measures against corruption. Later, the government began construction of the Padma Bridge with its own funds.
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