POBNEWS24, Dhaka June 26, 2022 :
5:55 in the morning. I got on the Mayor Hanif flyover near Chankharpul and reached Mawa area in just 28 minutes. The toll plaza of Padma bridge is only 2 km. Hundreds of cars had to stand in front. The Padma Bridge is scheduled to open to the public at 8 am on Sunday. I thought then the bridge will open in 5 to 6 minutes, the wheel of the car will move slowly.
The plan is tomorrow midnight, all of a sudden. The longest bridge in the country was inaugurated. You have to drive. When? I have tried to get various information from my colleague Anwar Hossain several days ago. When there can be more traffic, when it can be reduced? The night seemed to go on the first morning, that is, when the Padma Bridge was open to the public.
The experience of traffic jams on highways during Eid is not less. Again I thought, on the first day in the morning the crowd may not be much. Let’s go in the morning. The journey started with the other three members of the family. As soon as a car (N-7) falls on the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway, it starts stepping on the accelerator automatically. The speed continues to rise. I quickly went to Mawa area.
Slowly we came closer to the toll plaza. There are several toll gates, two closed. But the car is running randomly making seven or eight lanes. No attempt was made to control the traffic on the road in front of the toll plaza. At the toll plaza, I asked the toll worker, ‘Why are you late, are you leaving the car with something?’ The busy worker smiled in agreement. When the gate opened after paying the toll, it was 8:40 in the morning.
The last part of the approach road before the main bridge. The enormity of the Padma Bridge, the reality of the great work was then in front. The construction of the railway on the ground floor of the Padma Bridge is also noteworthy. I am driving on the drunken Padma tied to the road, it is surprising to think. There was a thought that I would get good speed on the Padma bridge. But on the main bridge it was seen that we have successfully converted the four lanes of the bridge into two lanes.
Lenta next to the railing of the bridge has become a place for taking selfies and family photos. I have been watching the campaign ‘Walking and taking pictures on Padma Bridge for many days’. But public-private small-large-medium vehicles are standing on the main bridge, passengers are getting down and taking pictures of the bridge and the river Padma in various poses. Leaning on the railing, the waves of Padma are counting dangerously. A child was seen sitting on the sidewalk of the bridge, his parents next to him.
There are hundreds of bikers. Stopping, taking selfies. I also saw an oxygen tanker standing. There is also a boat truck standing to congratulate a local leader.
As a result, the Padma bridge was not crossed in a hurry. Still, I crossed the six-and-a-half kilometer bridge in seven minutes. I remembered the ferry crossing. Two and a half hours on the ferry, and on the dock …. No arithmetic formula can accurately calculate the time it takes to get to and from the ferry.
As Jajira was crossing half of the Padma Bridge and descending towards the edge, he looked to the right and closed his eyes. The green of Thasbuntar. This is the green forestry project of Padma Bridge. The eyes are closed, the mind is taken away.
Since the purpose of today’s journey is to cross the Padma Bridge in the early hours of the launch, take the first U-turn at the Jazira end and turn back. Jazira’s toll plaza is almost empty. The female toll worker returned the rent with the money, we went back to Mawa. I crossed this toll as car number 256. There were 326 in Mawa.
It can also be a personal history. The return journey took five and a half minutes. This time the stopped car was seen. The RAB convoy with several vehicles was sometimes stopping, sometimes crossing the bridge slowly. The number of people hunting is not less.
Toll irritation is a big irritation, every time I go to Mawa, I feel it. The toll for Mayor Hanif flyover is Tk 80, the first Buriganga bridge built three decades ago is Tk 40, the twin bridges at Dhaleshwari are Tk 40 and the toll (sedan car) of Padma bridge is Tk 650. 690 to go, 790 to return — Total 1 thousand 60 rupees. The toll issue needs an immediate solution.
Intoxicated Padma can be seen from the bridge. Kuber fishermen of Manik Bandyopadhyay’s ‘Padma Nadir Majhi’ still fish in this intoxicated Padma all night. The white LED lights on their boat instead of the yellow light of the coupe. However, all night fishing activities are traditional, as in the case of Padma Hilsa.
There is no doubt that this amazing bridge over the Padma will give a new dimension to that work. By fishing on the other side, pushing the waves of the Padma by boat, you may not need to come to the other side. Dhaka is less than an hour away if you can get in any vehicle with fish from the other side of the bridge.
