This bridge connects disaster with disaster. On February 28 this year, Bonobibi Setu across the river Katakhali was inaugurated in Hasnabad in North 24 Parganas district in Bengal. The bridge, delivered just before the elections, is being touted by the Trinamul government as a triumph of “development” in the area, as it connects Hasnabad, the gateway to Calcutta, around 80km away, with the large area, including Hingalganj, that lies beyond, towards the Sunderbans.
Others see it as a perfect example of what can go wrong with a bridge. Bonobibi Setu is also an example of what the Left Front regime had in common with the Trinamul one: a model of development that does not take into account either the environmental or human cost.
