The renovation work that started in August last year was supposed to be completed in six months ending in January this year.

Although vehicular movement was suspended for the renovation, two local trains to and from Chittagong and Dohazari run daily on the rundown track, risking severe accident and human casualties anytime.

Nobody knows when the renovation will be completed or vehicular movement to start again on this important bridge. As a result, the original budgeted cost is sure to cross beyond its limit.

Meanwhile, Milan Enterprise, the contractor firm, sought another two months' time to complete the work. "The extended time is needed to replace the trap plate or deck, railing and channel as well as repairing the damaged girders," said Golam Faruk, manager of Milan Enterprise.

Sources, however, were skeptical about the contractor's fresh pledge and said the renovation might not be completed in next six months. They said that the contractor was now dilly-dallying the renovation deliberately with an intention to extract additional bill may be few lakhs for the two months he asked for.

Denying the allegation Golam Faruk said that initially we were asked to trap plate and railing only. But when we started the work we found most of the girders damaged and not fit for use. Additional 15 per cent cost is required to repair these girders, he added.

About 40 per cent work was completed in last six months and the rest to be done by April, he said.

Hundreds of thousands of passengers from Bandarban, Cox's Bazar and southern parts of Chittagong have been in utter miseries for the past few months as the uncertainty persists.

Worst more is that one of the four ferry services introduced by Roads and Highways Department as an alternative to ferry the vehicles during the renovation period is no more in operation for four to five weeks.

An executive engineer of the department told The Daily Star on Sunday that another ferry would arrive from Dhaka soon.

"Besides, process is underway to build two bailey bridges on each bank of the Karnaphuli River to ease the rush in ferrying the vehicles," he said requesting anonymity.

The 2094-feet bridge was installed as a simple rail bridge of steel structure in between Janalihat and Gomdandi Railway Stations in 1930.

British engineers constructed the bridge with 13 types of spans that include one 150-feet steel girder, twelve 100-feet under-slung girders, five 80-feet and a single 40-feet deck-type span and twelve 16-feet joists. The bridge has approach roads of 560-feet at Chittagong end and 490-feet at the Dohazari end.

The bridge was commissioned for operation of trains in Chittagong-Dohazari section in 1931. It was modified into a rail-and-road bridge in 1962 considering the sufferings of the people of the vast region.