Bailey bridge blunders!
Photo: STAR
Your Netrokona correspondent's report and the picture alongside, published on 10 November, about the collapse of the second bailey bridge within the last few days, should wake up the Roads and Highways Department to take some simple commonsense preventive measures. Blaming irresponsible overloaded trucks is the easy way out; but prevention is better than cure; and this can be prevented! Why not post clear warning signs on either side of the road that only one loaded truck at a time can cross from either end. Also put guards on both sides, along with police personnel, to ensure that this actually is done. This should stop these accidents which are caused due to sheer negligence! One supervisor and at most twelve men should cover both ends round the clock. At most this may cost sixty thousand taka per month, which comes to Tk.7.8 lac per month. Can we not take this simple cost effective measure to ensure that traffic is properly regulated and the bridges are safe? The capital cost of replacing one such bridge, by removing the damaged one and putting another, will be easily above one crore taka, the interest on which comes to over eight lac taka annually! It will take us probably ages to implement this simple precaution; meanwhile we prefer to be penny wise and pound foolish.
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