For the past 28 years, residents of Purba Barandipara area in Jashore Sadar upazila have been waiting for a concrete bridge over the Bhairab river.

With every passing year, their patience wears thin, but the bridge never gets built.

For years, locals have relied on a makeshift bamboo bridge to cross the river. It often gets damaged and has to be repaired repeatedly, mostly through self-initiative.

Every day, hundreds of people from the area, including around 200 students of Sheikhhati Shafiur Rahman Model Academy, risk their lives crossing the fragile structure to commute.

"The bamboo bridge was built by the locals mainly to help children reach school by crossing the river," said Rezaul Islam, headteacher of the school.

"After the first bridge collapsed, the school authority built another one. Students still use it daily to attend classes and return home. However, a permanent, concrete bridge is essential for their safety."

Murad Hossain, a local resident, said a request had already been submitted to the authorities concerned for the construction of a permanent bridge, but no progress had been made so far.

During a recent meeting of the District River Protection Committee at the Jashore Collectorate, Palash Kumar Banerjee, executive engineer of Water Development Board in Jashore, proposed the construction of a bridge over the Bhairab river in front of the school.

"The proposal has been included in a new project submitted for approval. Once approved, construction of the bridge will begin," said Chowdhury Mohammad Asif Reza, upazila officer of the Local Government Engineering Department in Jashore Sadar.