South Asia8217;s longest bridge opened

At the inaugural function today on the eastern bank of the river, emotions ran high as a recorded speech by Mujibur Rahman was played. The slain leader had talked of his dream of building a bridge over the Jamuna at a public rally held at Sirajgunj on March 24, 1973.

While the bridge was earlier called as Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge, Sheikh Hasina renamed it Bangabandhu, after her late father. Naturally, the Opposition did not take this renaming too kindly. But that didn8217;t deter Hasina, who insisted that the bridge be opened today, and with good reason. First of all, she completed two years as Prime Minister today. Secondly, it was also the 49th anniversary of herparty the Bangladesh Awami League.

All in all, it was a day of celebrations. The Dhaka-Tangail road, leading to the bridge, was adorned with festoons, arches and portraits of the leaders of the nation8217;s independence movement. Thousands of people lined up on both sides of the road as a huge motorcade drove down to the inauguration venue to witness what Hasina called 8220;the greatest historic moment8221; of the country.

The 4.8 km bridge was completed at a cost of 900 million over a span of four years. The OECF of Japan, the ADB and the World Bank provided 200 million each, while the Bangladesh Government8217;s contribution was around 300 million. The bridge now conquers the chasm the river had created between the east and the west of the country. WB, ADB and OECF officials were present at today8217;s function along with Hasina8217;s Cabinet colleagues. Some SAARC ministers including Union Law Minister Thambi Durai from India were also present. But Hasina8217;s arch-rival and former prime minister Begum Khaleda Ziastayed away.