It is ironic to think that in this day and age, 3,500 students of four educational institutions in Ranachandi and Garagram unions of Nilphamari's Kishoreganj upazila have to cross a “bridge” made of bamboos twice a day. This makeshift bamboo bridge which has no railings is something that the local people built themselves, as there was no help forthcoming from the local administration. The inaction of the administration was due to confusion over jurisdictional boundaries, i.e. there was confusion about which union Bullai river belonged to.

We are sorry to say that whatever jurisdictional confusion there was or is, it should not take years to resolve and leave people in the lurch. Yet that is precisely what the residents of these two unions who live in the vicinity of this river have been going through. It is understandable that many parents are not too keen on letting their children go to school as they have to walk on this rickety, makeshift structure. Children have been falling off the bridge and it is most fortunate that there have been no serious injuries or fatalities.

We wonder what it would take for the local administration to take notice of this ridiculous situation. With thousands of bridges being constructed all over rural Bangladesh in the name of development, five years have passed and the officials of Ranachandi and Garagram unions have failed to resolve a simple thing like jurisdiction! It is high time that the concerned department sorted out this mess so that both children and their parents can cross this river in safety.