Bridge links Moheshkhali with mainland this month
A Correspondent, Cox's Bazar
At last Moheshkhali coastal island is being connected with the mainland, fulfilling a long cherished desire of its four lakh people and opening up great prospects for development. The Badorkhali-Janata Bazar bridge over Kuhelia river is going to be inaugurated this month, setting up direct road link. Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is likely to open the bridge but the date is yet to be fixed, administration sources said yesterday. Moheshkhali island is known for its dry fish and other sea resources. The 34.7 meter long bridge has been built by the Roads and Highways Department at a cost of Tk Tk 27.3 crore. The cost was initially estimated at Tk 17.85 crore. The cost escalated because the bridge construction took five years instead of three years as was planned, RHD sources said. Several governments in the past committed to construct a bridge on the Kuhelia river to connect Moheshkhali with the mainland. In 1994, the then BNP government introduced a ferry service on the river. That was the first step to link Moheshkhali with mainland. The government later planned a bridge and the then communications minister Col. Oli Ahmed laid the foundation of the proposed bridge. The construction work began in 2000 during the tenure of Awami League government but was interrupted due to fund shortage, the sources said.
| 
