MR Amin, Chittagong

Allegations of widespread irregularities and corruption including commission trading have been raised in the Halishahar Sewerage Project of Chittagong WASA . Poor quality materials have been used in the construction work and cracks have already appeared in some places on the walls.

According to the allegations of various irregularities, such information was found in the project area recently. As a result, this project, which was built at a cost of 3 thousand 808 crores of WASA, has come under controversy.

However, denying the issue of commission and irregularities, the project director is defending the contractor by claiming that these cracks are 'skin cracks'. However, if there is no commission system, many people ask how low-quality work is done.

Going to the ground in the project area, it can be seen that the masons are divided into several groups and are working on the construction of the structure. In some structures BSRM is using GPH rods elsewhere. Although any brand of cement from Ruby, Confidence and Royal is supposed to be used in the construction work, Royal cement is being used. Although several engineers are claiming that ruby cement is the best. But it is not being used. A little further ahead, huge walls were seen, where the lining was made. And there are long cracks from the bottom to the top in several places of that layer. Some are narrow and some are big.

Talking to the masons, it is known that there is negligence in the supervision of construction work, cracks may appear if water is not given regularly. Again if the quantity of sand and cement is less/more its quality is bad or if the mixture is not good it may cause cracks in the wall. But no one is willing to say what kind of error has happened here.

In this regard, Vice President of Central Committee of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) and President of Chittagong Divisional Committee SM Najer Hossain said that most of the projects undertaken by Chittagong Waysa in the last 10 years are for looting. Sewerage project is also one of them. The budget has been revised several times, showing the cost several times higher than the market rate. Only on the pretext of foreign companies increased the cost but did not increase the quality of work. I think the high commission trade results in low quality products being used. In order to prevent corruption, all irregularities will be caught if the concerned officials are removed and investigated impartially. Besides, the project will save a lot of money. Therefore, I demand to take action now for the greater interest of the country.

It is learnt that Chittagong WASA has undertaken a project to ensure sewage system for the metropolis by constructing sanitation facilities in order to maintain the modern lifestyle of the city dwellers. The project includes construction of 1 sewage treatment plant with a capacity of 100 million liters per day, construction of 1 faecal sludge treatment plant with a capacity of 300 cubic meters per day and installation of 200 km of trunk main and collection sewage pipelines of various diameters (2100 mm to 115 mm) and faecal sludge management equipment purchase.

The cost to complete these was estimated at Tk 3808 crores. Out of this, Chittagong WASA is giving Tk 50 crore and Korean Exim Bank is giving the remaining amount. 2 million people will benefit through this project. For this, the per capita cost is Tk 19,000. 56.5 percent of project work has been completed. Malaysia-based consulting firm Erinko is implementing the project. A Korean company will build the refinery and two Chinese companies will build the pipeline. A proposal to increase the project cost by Tk 1000 crore was sent to the ministry but it was not approved.

Those concerned said that the implementation period of the project was fixed for five years from July 2018. A proposal has been sent to extend the latest period by two years till July 2026. On the pretext of increase in the price of dollar, a proposal has been prepared and sent to the DPP to increase the project cost by about 1 thousand crore taka . But the approval was not received even after a year of sending the proposal.

Denying the issue of commission trading, financial irregularities and the use of low-quality construction materials in the sewage project, PD Engineer Ariful Islam said, "There is no scope for irregularities in the work here." Each material is checked and approved for use in Chute. Regarding the crack, he said that water will not come out through this crack. And it is called screen crack in all works there are some cracks. And they will fix these cracks before explaining the project. Also, if there are any defects in the construction, the contractor will fix everything before handing over the project. Regarding the increase in the cost of the project, he said, "The DPP was created in 2014. The implementation period started from July 2018.

The price of construction materials was determined by considering the prevailing market rates. Now the construction material and dollar cost of the project has increased over time. Some changes have been made in the design of the project. Therefore, the cost of the project has increased considering the current market price.

Therefore, a proposal has been sent to increase the cost of the project by another 1000 crore taka.

Those concerned said that apart from rain water, two types of liquid waste are discharged. Two types of liquid waste are domestic kitchen effluent and toilet septic tank effluent. Two types of liquid waste discharged from the houses are falling into the Halda and Karnaphuli rivers and Bay of Bengal through canals. At present, around 288 million liters of wastewater are being discharged in Chittagong city every day, which will stand at 525 million liters per day by the year 2030. Besides, about 539 cubic meters of fecal sludge is accumulating in septic tanks every day, which will be 715 cubic meters every day by the year 2030.

In 1963, WASA started drinking water supply and sanitation, but is still limited to water supply. However, by bringing 60 percent of the population of the city under pipe sewage and 30 percent of the population under interceptors and pumps, a plan has been taken to bring a total of 90 percent of the population under the sewage system.