They also criticised the government's dilly-dally attitude in implementing an election pledge.

Terming it as a popular demand of people, they said the bridge is an integral part of proposed Asian Highway which had been okayed in the first ECNEC meeting of the government.

Millions of people living in the southern part of the city are fully depended on the second bridge named Shah Amanat Bridge, they said.

Signatories to the statement are Resident Editor of Prothom Alo Abul Momen, Chittagong Press Club President Abu Sufian, General Secretary Kalim Sarwar, Chittagong Union of Journalists (CUJ) President Mostak Ahmad, General Secretary Shahid-Ul-Alam, journalists Nasiru-ddin Chowdhury, Mohammad Idris, Ataul Hakim, M Nasirul Haq, Nurul Amin, Helal Uddin Chowdhury, Moazzemul Haq, Iskander Ali Chowdhury, Omar Kaiser, Helal Humayun, Osman Gani Mansur, Tamal Chowdhury, Ali Abbas, Anjan Kumar Sen, Nirmal Chandra Das, Kamrul Islam, Asif Siraj, Nawsher Ali Khan, Biswajit Chowdhury, Daisy Moudud, Jahidul Karim Kochi, Mostafa Naim, Shamsul Haq Haideri, Chowdhury Farid, Abul Hasnat, Kashem Mahmud, Mamun Abdullah, Rafiqul Bahar, Samir Barua, Nazimuddin Shyamol, Kamal Parvez, Mostafizur Rahman, Didarul Alam, Zobaer Hossain Sikder, Shahidullah Shahriar, Hasan Ferdous, Mohammad Shahnawaj, Mohsin Chowdhury and Komal Dey.