Brahmanbaria Correspondent

The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) has ordered a contracting firm to immediately halt repair work on the vital Chandura-Singarbhil road in Vijaynagar upazila of Brahmanbaria following allegations of gross irregularities, including the use of substandard materials and violation of construction guidelines.

The administrative action was prompted after Md. Sirajul Islam Siraj, Administrator of Brahmanbaria Zila Parishad and General Secretary of the District BNP, visited the site on Wednesday morning after being informed of the poor construction quality by local residents.

Upon witnessing the anomalies, he immediately reported the matter to the LGED Executive Engineer, triggering swift intervention from the upazila engineering office. Later that morning, LGED officials inspected the site, verified the complaints, and ordered the contractor to suspend all operations.

According to LGED sources, a contract was signed on December 28, 2024, to renovate a 1.25-kilometer stretch from the Ariol Bridge section of the Chandura-Singarbhil road (Chandura R&H-Nurpur GC Road). The project budget was estimated at Tk 93,68,512, with the execution responsibility awarded to a contracting firm named M/S Ripa-Safa Enterprise.

Local residents alleged that after securing the contract, the firm inexplicably halted operations for a prolonged period. Although they recently resumed work and completed about 30 percent of the project, the quality remained heavily compromised. LGED officials revealed that the firm had been served a formal warning notice on February 18, 2026, due to unsatisfactory progress, but no corrective measures were taken.

An engineering inspection revealed that the contractor was laying down carpeting over uncleaned, thick dust without applying the mandatory prime coat, while completely ignoring the proper leveling of the road. Additionally, the stones used for the construction failed to meet the required regulatory standards. Furthermore, the official deadline for the project had already expired on March 30, 2026, yet the firm restarted the work without obtaining a mandatory time extension.

Following the site closure on Wednesday, the Vijaynagar Upazila LGED office dispatched a detailed investigation report to the LGED Executive Engineer in Brahmanbaria for further administrative and punitive actions.

Vijaynagar Upazila LGED Engineer Mohammad Ashikur Rahman Bhuiyan confirmed the development, stating that the contracting firm was executing the project without a valid time extension after the deadline had already passed. He added that because their inspection verified the allegations regarding the use of inferior materials and a failure to follow standard construction procedures, they ordered an immediate halt to all work.

Management of M/S Ripa-Safa Enterprise was phoned for comment but they could not be reached.