Tk 12cr renovation work turns futile
Tk 12 crore has been spent for renovating the damaged Mahendranagar-Mostofi road in Sadar upazila for last seven years, but it has failed to metigate sufferings of people.
Several potholes have developed on the 5.53-kilometre-long road, causing immense sufferings to passengers, said locals.
Built by Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) in 1995, the road has been in good condition for six years, said Lalmonirhat LGED Executive Engineer AKM Amiruzzaman.
As the road connects Lalmonirhat-Burimari highway with Rangpur-Kurigram highway, all types of vehicles ply the road as transport workers prefer to use it as shortcut.
Due to the potholes in at least 10 points, road accidents have become regular in the last one month.
LGED repaired and maintained the road for 15 years since 2002, said Engineer Amiruzzaman, adding that as the road connects the two important highways it was handed over to Roads and Highways Department (RHD) in November 2017.
LGED spent Tk 11 crore for renovating the road from 2011 to 2017 while RHD spent Tk 1 crore in the last one year.
Local people alleged that the road was repaired again and again only to make profit for the contractors and engineers.
As substandard materials were used in the repair work the road got damaged, said Nurnabi Islam, a businessman of Mostofi area in Sadar upazila.
Lalmonirhat RHD Section Officer Anwarul Alam said Tk 1 crore was spent for maintenance of the road in the last one year, but it got damaged again due to plying of heavy vehicles.
“We tride to keep the road usable during Eid rush,” he said.
Delwar Hossain, a trucker from Rangpur, said due to small and large potholes at many places they have to suffer a lot while plying their vehicles on the road, but no steps have been taken yet to repair the damaged road.
Despite repeated pleas, the authorities concerned are yet to take any remarkable steps to repair the road, said Abul Kalam, general secretary of Lalmonirhat District Truck and Tank-lorry Sramik Union.
The LGED engineer said now RHD is the sole authority in terms of maintaining the road as it was handed over to them in 2017.
Lalmonirhat RHD Executive Engineer Ali Noorayen said a tender worth Tk 7 crore was called to reconstruct the road.
The contractor will be given work order very soon, he said.
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