Chandpur, May 21 -- In the northern part of Chandpur Sadar upazila, relentless erosion by the Dhanagoda River over the past seven to eight years has erased a once-bustling rural road, leaving behind only a lonely, disconnected bailey bridge stranded on the riverbank.

Constructed in 2001 by the aid agency CARE in Bishnupur village, the 60-foot-long steel bridge was part of a 5-kilometre earthen road that connected several localities.

It once served as a lifeline for hundreds of residents - students, traders and patients - who relied on it daily to reach schools, markets and medical facilities in Matlab or even the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.

The road, once 18 feet wide and solid underfoot, now lives only in memory.

The Dhanagod...