SM Suman Rashid:
The work of 5 bridges under construction in Amtali Upazila under the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) of Barguna has been stalled for 5 years. The construction cost of which is about 25 crore taka. In some places, the contractor concerned is doing partial work. Such a situation has been created due to various reasons including negligence, political influence and capriciousness of the contracting company. As a result, there is anger among the locals along with public suffering.
It has been learned that the work of 5 bridges that have been started under the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) in different upazilas of Barguna since 2019 has been stalled.
The contractor company has a responsible statement in this regard. And the LGED authorities claim that the work will be implemented as soon as possible.
Although there is a rule to hand over these bridges within one year of the start of work, they have not been handed over even after 5 years. There is no specific deadline for when these works will be completed. As a result, the movement of locals has been severely affected. The cost of the 5 bridges under construction has been estimated at around Tk 250 million.
The work on the 72-meter bridge in the Sonakhali area of ​​Tafalbari Canal in Atharogachia Union of Amtoli Upazila of Barguna began on January 13, 2020 at a cost of Tk 60 million. After the completion of the work, it was supposed to be handed over as per the rules by January 13, 2021. After that, the work period was extended, but it was completed on November 13 of last year (2023). But the work is not finished, the construction of the bridge has been stopped for a long time. According to the calculations of the concerned LGED authorities, 70 percent of the bridge work has been completed so far. The contractor is Rafiuddin Ahmed Ferdous, former mayor of Mathbaria Municipality in Pirojpur district and president of the Upazila Awami League. The locals, including schools and madrasas, are suffering immensely as the work of this bridge is not completed on time.
In this regard, Md. Jamal Hossain of Purba Sonakhali village of the upazila said, “We are residents of this area. The contractor works for a few days, then stops work. The bridge work has been stopped for a long time. The contractor has been working as they wish. And the common people have been suffering for years. Even the students of the two government primary schools adjacent to the bridge have to cross the river at their own risk. But the contractor has no headache about this. We want the bridge work to be implemented as soon as possible.
When contacted on mobile phone in this regard, the contractor concerned, former mayor of Mathbaria Municipality Rafiuddin Ahmed Ferdous, said he would talk to him later, but did not answer the phone after that.
The same situation is with the work of the 60-meter girder bridge under construction at a cost of 5.5 crore taka on the canal adjacent to Arpangashiya Bazar on the Amtali-Taltali road of the district. Although the work started on April 12, 2020 and was supposed to be completed on April 12, 2021, only 60 percent of the work has been completed so far. Even after that, the concerned contractor did not extend the work period. However, this road is the only connecting road between the district town and the two upazilas of Amtoli-Taltoli. Moreover, numerous heavy vehicles including transport buses from different districts including the capital Dhaka ply on this road every day. Md. Jaber Mia, a driver from Arpangashia area, said, we constantly go to Amtoli town through this road to transport bricks and other goods. But since the bridge is not there, we have to cross an old, risky bridge nearby. However, a major accident can occur at any time if the old bridge collapses. In this regard, the concerned contractor and General Secretary of the Barguna District Bus and Minibus Owners’ Association, Md. Chhagir Hossain said, it took time to start the work due to an electric pole. However, the current work is ongoing and will be completed as soon as possible.
In this regard, the concerned contractor Md. Chhagir Hossain said, an application has been made to the LGED authorities to approve the revised estimate of the bridge, which is 90 percent complete. If they are approved, the work will be completed as soon as possible.
The work of the 37-meter girder bridge at a cost of 3.37 crore taka in the Tafalbari canal of Atharogachia union of the upazila began on July 23, 2019. It was supposed to be completed on October 31, 2020. But even though four years have passed since the completion date, 65 percent of the work has been completed so far. The contractor for this work is former chairman of Haldia union and joint general secretary of the upazila Awami League Md. Shahidul Islam Mridha.
Thus, work has stalled on 5 bridges in the upazila. As a result, the common people, including school-madrasa-going students, are suffering. Therefore, the locals demand the implementation of these bridge works as soon as possible.
Executive Engineer of Barguna LGED Md. Mehedi Hasan Khan said that the LGED authorities have already issued a final notice to all the contracting companies, urging them to start work within 28 days.
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