Road collapses within a year in Kurigram
The road stretching from Narikelbari-Satibari to Khamar Government Primary School in Ulipur municipality of Kurigram district has collapsed at several places. Besides, the guide wall of the road has collapsed, causing immense sufferings to commuters.
All these things happened within a year of the construction of the road.
Local people have blamed use of substandard materials in the construction work of the road.
Due to collapse of the road at various places, the width of the road has shrunk to six to four feet from its original width of 10 feet.
According to the municipality sources, in November 2018, the construction work of the road was started at a cost of Tk 96 lakh under the JICA project and it was completed in June 2019. Guide walls were constructed at two places to protect the road from being damaged by Buri Teesta river water.
Mahbubul Alam, assistant engineer of the municipality, said contractor Shah Alam, owner of Messrs' Sunflower Firm, got the work order but sub-contractor Shahinur Alamgir, owner of Anwesha Traders, did the road construction work.
Mahbubul told The Daily Star that the road was damaged in a short time due to heavy rains and waters from the river. The contractor is yet to submit the final bill. The contractor has already been given a show-cause notice and he has been asked to renovate the road.
Asked about the poor quality work of the road, the engineer said substandard materials were not used in the construction work.
The road is at high risk of collapse as it is on the bank of the Buri Teesta river, he said.
Contacted, Shahinur Alamgir, sub-contractor, said the road and guide wall were damaged by the Buri Teesta river water.
If the municipality authorities ask him to renovate the road, he will do it, said Shahinur.
Kamruzzaman Miah, a resident of Narikelbari area, said local people protested when substandard materials were being used in the road construction work. But the municipality authorities did not listen to the protesters then as the contractor is a local Awami League leader.
The road is still collapsing at different places, he said, adding that vehicles and pedestrians cannot move smoothly on the road now due to its bad condition.
The condition of the road usually turns very bad during monsoon, said Kamruzzaman, adding that due to this, the commuters have to suffer a lot.
Abdul Khaleq, a resident of Satibari area in the municipality, said due to use of low quality construction materials, the road collapsed at different places. The road got badly damaged within a year of its construction.
The road may fully collapse any time due to heavy rains if it is not renovated immediately, he said.
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