Landslide-hit bridge serving 10,000 in Bangladesh tea gardens collapses

A vital bridge connecting the Kapai and Laskarpur tea gardens in Bangladesh's Habiganj district has collapsed following an overnight landslide, severing communication for approximately 10,000 residents and significantly disrupting daily life.

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Every day I have to walk miles extra just to carry the tea leaves to the factory.

The collapse has doubled the workload for tea workers like Mintu Deshwara, who now must walk miles out of his way to deliver harvested tea leaves to the factory. His wages remain unchanged, but the increased travel time and effort present a significant hardship. For students, like Sunita Roy's son preparing for exams, the loss of the bridge means a perilous or lengthy journey to school.

Residents allege that the bridge, constructed by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) about 15 years ago, had sustained visible damage from an earlier landslide but was never repaired. The central pillar has reportedly broken completely, rendering it beyond repair and necessitating the construction of a new bridge.

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We have been living here for generations, but no one from the government ever comes to listen to our problems.

The incident has raised concerns about environmental degradation. Tofazzal Sohel of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (BAPA), Habiganj, attributed the collapse to the stripping of trees from hillsides around Satchari National Park, making landslides inevitable. He stressed that simply building a new bridge is insufficient; authorities must also restore the hillsides, replant native trees, and protect the forest to prevent future occurrences.

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The middle pillar has broken completely. A new bridge must be built.

Local authorities have been informed, and an LGED engineer stated that a joint inspection has been conducted, with a proposal for a new bridge to be submitted soon. However, the immediate impact on the community highlights the urgent need for both infrastructure repair and environmental protection measures.

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When hillsides are stripped of trees, landslides become inevitable. Building a new bridge is not enough -- the authorities must restore the hillside, replant native trees, and strictly protect the forest. Otherwise, this will happen again.