Sabbir Alam Babu, Bhola

The newly given carpeting of about 5,000 meters of road at a cost of Tk 1.55 crore in two packages from Dularhat to Hazirhat Bazar in Charfason of Bhola was completed within a month without completion.

The contractor has been accused of using substandard materials in carpeting in road repairs in collusion with Local Government Engineering Department ( LGED) officials. By managing the officials, the contractor has illegally repaired the road with substandard materials. Within a month of the renovation, the carpeting has gone up, causing extreme anger among the locals.

It is learned that in the financial year 2019-20, Talukdar Enterprise and Kamal Enterprise, a contractor from Bhola, received orders to repair and carpet 5,000 meters of road in two packages at a cost of Tk 1.55 crore from Dularhat Bazar to Hazirhat Bazar of Ahmedpur Union.

The contractor company owned by Vavu Lavu Mia purchased 5,000 meters of work in two packages from those two contractors. The carpeting work of the road from 3540 meters out of 5000 meters of the two packages was completed recently. Work on another package of 2640 meters is underway.

Carpeting with low quality bitumen, stone, surki and other materials started carpeting about 100 meters of the road within one month of the completion of the work. Besides, cracks appeared all over the road. Local children were seen pulling the carpet by hand. Within a month, the carpeting of the newly renovated road was lifted, causing extreme anger among the locals and pedestrians.

Locals alleged that the contractor, who had received the work order, had repaired the road with substandard materials in collusion with LGED officials. The locals are not improving the quality of the road repair work. The contractor has requested the locals to work with high quality materials from the very beginning but the contractor did not take it into consideration and completed the carpeting work using inferior materials.

The locals informed the Upazila Engineer about this more than once and they did not get any remedy. Within one month of the renovation, cracks appeared all over the road. The newly given carpeting is going up. Samsuddin, a local resident, said that the road was not being repaired properly and the people employed by the contractor were stopped at the beginning. And the Assistant Sub-Assistant Engineer (SO) who was supervising the work was informed but he did not take any action.

As LGED officials were involved in the contractor's misdeed, they carried out the renovation work with low quality stones, bitumen and surki. The carpeting of the road is going up within a month after the completion of the renovation. Contractor Lavu Mia said that in the financial year 2019-20, he bought the road repair work of two packages of Talukdar Enterprise and Kamal Enterprise. The work could not be completed last year due to rains. Work on the road has started this year. The quality of work has been done properly. But let me know why the carpeting has gone up.

The carpeting spaces will be renovated within a day or two. However, Deputy Assistant Engineer. Nurhosen said, the contractor has been asked to renovate the carpeted areas within a few days.

The carpeting spaces will be renovated within a day or two. Upazila engineer said. Mosharraf Hossain said the contractor had been asked to remove the carpeting and renovate the road by Sunday.