Plaster falls off newly built madrasa building

Plaster is falling off the walls of a newly constructed four-storey academic building at Modhya Bogura Nuria Dakhil Madrasa in Patuakhali's Dashmina upazila, raising questions about the quality of the construction work.

Locals have alleged that substandard materials were used by the contractor, Abul Kalam Azad, who was awarded the Tk 3.19 crore project by the Education Engineering Department (EED) under the 2019-20 fiscal year tender.

Construction began on February 24 in 2020, and classes in the new building commenced in January this year.

A recent visit to the site revealed extensive peeling of plaster from the walls. Residents claimed that a low ratio of cement and poor-quality sand was used.

"We protested during construction, but the contractor did not pay any attention," said one local.

Md Mizanur Rahman, superintendent of the madrasa, said, "Plaster started falling off in early April, just three months after classes began in the new building. The condition makes it look like it was built 20 years ago."

He said he had informed the relevant authorities about the issue.

Contacted, contractor Abul Kalam Azad said although the project is in his firm's name, he did not personally carry out the work.

"Someone else handled the construction," he said, adding that he is unaware of any irregularities in the materials or workmanship.

Repeated attempts to reach Md Azom, who was supervising the work in the field, went unanswered as his mobile phone remained switched off.

Mosfiqur Rahman, executive engineer of the EED in Patuakhali, said he was aware of the issue. "As a result, 27 lakh takas of the contractor's payment has been withheld. We have instructed him to redo the plastering work immediately."