Greetings everyone! This Mohammad Sumon! from #Bangladesh

^{Hello everyone! I hope you all are doing well by the grace of the Almighty.}

Today, I am very excited to share my entry for the Contest. A special thanks to my friend@josepha, for hosting such an engaging competition.

^{Spreading positivity and creativity through my words.}

My Community, My Story

When the rivers and canals around us swell during the rainy season, it is hard to believe how the normal life of the people of the entire area comes to a standstill due to the lack of just one bridge. Although there is no lack of joy in this peaceful life on the banks of the river surrounded by the immense beauty of nature, such a cruel reality of travel constantly haunts us.

To me, this canal is not just a body of water; it is a silent witness to our daily sorrows and miseries. Today, on the Steemit platform, I am highlighting the familiar but painful humanitarian crisis in my area.

The Bridge We Desperately Need at KheyaGhat

My name is Mohammad Sumon (Steemit Username: @sumon247). I am a permanent resident of the Kheyaghat Launch Terminal area (Bhola - 8300) of Bhola Sadar Upazila, an island district of Bangladesh.

Our area is a very well-known and populated area of ​​Bhola Sadar, located at the confluence of the Meghna and Tentulia rivers. Although the Kheyaghat area looks full of river gurgling and turbulence, in my opinion, we are still extremely neglected in terms of infrastructure. Since there is no direct paved road or a permanent bridge over the canal, hundreds of people in our area are being deprived of the basic transportation facilities of the modern era.

In my view, the biggest and most difficult challenge in our area is the lack of direct communication and the absence of a permanent bridge over the canal. As you can see from the videos and photos I have taken, there is no direct alternative route to the other side of the canal. People are forced to walk along the sloping banks of the canal and board small dinghies every day.

In my eyes, the human impact of this problem on public life is

Every morning when small school and college students and working people crowd the canal, I find that scene very pathetic. They have to stand in line for hours for just one or two small boats. If for some reason there is no boatman or the boats are stuck on the bank, the children miss school, and the working hours of the common people are wasted.

This is the most heartbreaking aspect of our area. If someone suddenly falls ill late at night or if a pregnant mother needs emergency treatment, there is no way to call a car directly from the area. I think we have seen with our own eyes how the lack of a bridge becomes a threat to a person's life. The dying patient has to be brought on a stretcher and waits in extreme fear on the bank of the canal, and many times it is not possible to reach the hospital by taking the boat across.

Even if someone dies in the area, there is no opportunity to bring a vehicle to carry the body. The dinghy is the only companion of people even at the last farewell of life.

During the rainy season, crossing the canal in an open boat is very dangerous due to the strong current and tangled vegetation. In the pictures and videos, you will see children playing in the canal water, but since there is no protection or bridge, an unknown terror haunts us every rainy season.

Farmers and small traders in the area cannot easily take their hard-earned products to the market. They have to pay additional porters to lift and lower the boat, which results in their profits being reduced.

In my opinion, there are two main reasons behind this long-standing humanitarian disaster in our Kheaghat area:

1. Lack of necessary financial allocation: The huge amount of money required to build a durable and strong concrete bridge over the canal is absolutely impossible for ordinary people like us to raise funds or bear personally.

2. Government intervention and administrative indifference: I have also mentioned it in my video—although a bridge was supposed to be built here, it did not see the light of day due to the lack of an adequate budget and effective government intervention. I think that we have been suffering from this for years due to the lack of goodwill and proper monitoring by the local administration.

Efforts Made:

Conscious people and youth of the area have submitted written appeals to the Bhola Sadar Upazila Administration and the concerned authorities several times. Even an attempt was made to build a bamboo bridge on local initiative, but it was washed away by the monsoon. As a result, we are forced to rely 100% on that boat again.

My Proposed Solution:

• Construction of a concrete bridge: In my opinion, it is very important to construct a permanent girder bridge at this specific point of the Kheyaghat canal without delay.

• Construction of paved connecting road: The unpaved roads on both sides of the canal need to be quickly converted into paved connecting roads so that ambulances or any other vehicle can reach the Kheyaghat area directly.

I think that this suffering cannot be ended without the collective efforts of everyone:

• Government's Role: The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) and the district administration should quickly inspect the site and approve funds for this bridge in the next fiscal year's budget.

• NGO and humanitarian organization initiatives: Public welfare organizations can use a part of their funds for the infrastructural development of this area.

• Local residents' pledge: We, the residents, promise that if there is any land-related obstacle during the construction of the bridge, we will resolve it ourselves and will be ready to volunteer to provide overall support in the construction work.

IPFS Video

Conclusion

It is a very painful experience for me to see how the mere lack of a bridge can hold hostage the daily laughter and tears of hundreds of people, children's dreams, medical care, and the economy of an entire area. When I stand on the banks of the canal every day and see the cries and helpless struggles of the people, I think that such a situation cannot be desirable in this era of development.

I would like to invite @ninapenda, @m-fdo, and @saxopedia to participate in this contest. Hope to see your wonderful entries!

If you enjoyed my post, feel free to upvote, comment, and share your thoughts. Your support keeps me motivated!

Thank you very much ❤️

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