Hardinge Bridge is steeped in history and heritage

 

Hardinge Bridge is a railway bridge connecting Pakshi in Ishwardi Upazila of Pabna District to Bheramara Upazila of Kushtia District in Bangladesh. It is known as the longest railway bridge in Bangladesh. Hardinge Bridge is located on the Padma River between Pakshi Union under Ishwardi Upazila of Pabna and Bheramara Upazila of Kushtia. Hardinge Bridge is a heritage structure of Bheramara and Ishwardi upazilas. The bridge is located on the Padma river about 8.5 km north of Bheramara upazila headquarters and about 8 km south of Ishwardi upazila headquarters.

The bridge was named after the then Viceroy Lord Hardinge. The length of Hardinge Bridge is 1,798.32 meters or 5894 feet or 1.8 km.

In 1889, the then undivided Government of India proposed the construction of a bridge over the Padma River to facilitate Calcutta's communication with Assam, Tripura, Nagaland and North Bengal. Later, in 1908, British engineer Sir Robert Gales took responsibility for the construction of the bridge after getting the permission to build it.

In 1909, the survey for the construction of the bridge was started. In 1910-11 AD, dams were constructed to protect bridges on both banks of the Padma. The construction of the guide bank of the bridge started in 1912 AD. Along with this, the construction of the bridge girder started. Wells are dug for construction of girders. 24 thousand workers worked tirelessly for 5 years and completed the construction of the bridge in 1915 AD. Lord Hardinge was the then Viceroy of undivided India. The bridge was named Hardinge Bridge after him. 3 crore 51 lakh 32 thousand 1 hundred and 64 rupees were spent on the construction of the bridge. The length of the bridge is 5 thousand 8 hundred feet. The bridge has 15 spans. During the liberation war in 1971 AD, the span number 12 was damaged when a bomb was dropped on the bridge. which have since been repaired.

Hardinge Bridge is located on Padma river in Ishwardi Bheramara border. Only trains pass through the bridge. Bangladesh Railway is in charge of maintenance and safety of the bridge. The year 2015 marks the centenary of the construction of the Hardinge Bridge