, Jan. 3 -- Rising gracefully over the Kaliganga River in Ghior upazila, the concrete bridge at Baikunthapur was meant to end decades of isolation for dozens of villages, yet today it stands idle, cut off from the very communities it was built to serve.

Three years after its completion, the Tk 42.34-crore structure remains unused, reminding how poor planning can turn development into despair, locals said.

With no approach roads on either end, the 365-metre-long bridge has failed to deliver its promise of connectivity. For residents of at least 30 villages on both banks of the river, daily life remains shaped by hardship, risk and long detours.

Rather than easing communication, the bridge has become a symbol of frustration, according to...