Tongi bridge repair to take one more week  

Commuters of the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway will have to suffer for one more week as the repair works of collapsed Tongi Bridge will take till next Sunday to be completed, said authorities.

Md Mohirul Islam Khan, Project Director (Bridge Division) of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project, assigned for the renovation of the bridge, said a slab of the bridge has been damaged and a new slab will be placed on Thursday. High-quality concrete will be used in casting and it will be ready for use within 24 hours. Vehicles will use bypass roads, for the time being.

Gazipur Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner (Traffic) Abdullah Al Mamun said initially vehicles kept moving on the bridge even after the bridge collapsed on Wednesday. Bangladesh Road Transport Authority officials visited the site and stopped vehicle movement considering the risks involved. 

A one-way system was introduced on Friday for the convenience of commuters under which Dhaka-bound vehicles from Mymensingh, Gazipur and Narsingdi will enter the capital via the Bailey bridge on the River Turag. On the other hand, Mymensingh and Gazipur bound buses will go via the bridge adjacent to the Kamarpara Ijtema field, he added. 

Meanwhile, truck and covered van owners have hiked the fair due to the slow movement of traffics in this route. 

Truck-Covered Van Owners-Workers Coordinating Council Convenor Rustam Ali Khan said they had no other way but to hike the fair as the traffic jam is causing a one-day delay for transporting goods to Chattogram.

BRT Project Director Md Mohirul Islam blamed the indiscipline of buses for the severe traffic jam despite having bypass roads.

About the jam, Anwar Hossain, a passenger from Gazipur's Bordbazar, said, "I got on the bus from Bordbazar at 7.30am for Banasree in Dhaka and arrived at 4:30pm. I will go to Barisal by the launch this evening. I wanted to do some urgent work in Dhaka but it was late afternoon to reach Dhaka.