Russel Mia, Amtali (Barguna)

Barisal Divisional Commissioner Khalil Ahmed has inspected the site following allegations of irregularities in the construction work of the Central Lake Beautification Project of Amtoli Municipality in Barguna. He said that evidence of irregularities was found in the construction work during the inspection. At the same time, samples of various construction materials including rods, sand, cement used in the project have been collected.

The Divisional Commissioner inspected the project area at around 4 pm on Wednesday.

During this time, he toured various structures of the project, including the collapsed part of the walkway under construction.

After the inspection, Khalil Ahmed told reporters, "Evidence of irregularities in the construction work was found upon arrival at the scene." Samples of the collected construction materials will be sent to the laboratory for testing. He also said that if evidence of irregularities is found during the test, necessary action will be taken against those responsible.

According to sources related to the project, the beautification work of Amtali Municipality was undertaken under the LGCRRP project of the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) funded by the World Bank. The cost of the project under the Ministry of Local Government in the fiscal year 2023-24 is estimated at 125.698 million taka. A company named Islam Brothers of Jhalakathi has been awarded the contract for the work.

However, there have been various questions among the locals about the construction of the project from the beginning. The locals allege that although the work was taken in the name of the contracting company, the then Mayor of Amtoli Municipality, Md. Matiar Rahman, was directly involved in the construction work.

However, Islam Brothers owner Md. Khairul Azad denied the allegations. He said, "The work was taken with my license, it is true. However, the work was done by former mayor Matiar Rahman. I have no involvement there. I know nothing about it."

Attempts were made to contact former municipal mayor and Amtoli Upazila Awami League president Md. Matiar Rahman on his mobile phone several times to get his statement on the allegations, but he could not be reached.

Recently, a portion of the RCC deck platform of the under-construction walkway collapsed during casting. This incident has raised questions about the quality of construction work, materials used, and project supervision.

Although the engineers concerned claim that there was no problem with the main piling of the project, that part of the walkway collapsed due to the centering support loosening.

However, local residents complain that the quality of materials and work used in the construction of the project is not being properly monitored. They demand that the quality of all work completed since the beginning of the project, not just the collapsed part, needs to be verified.