Firm misses first deadline

The construction firm missed the first deadline of completing work of bank protection embankment of the Dharla river in October last year while the second one would end by this month.

Villagers in Sadar upazila are frustrated as the work in Dakkhin Shiberkuti area is progressing too slowly.

Besides, the people in Aditmari upazila protested use of low quality materials in construction of CC blocks for repairing the damaged spar dyke on the left bank of the Teesta river.

Locals said GO textile bags filled with sand have not been dumped along the bank of the Dharla river at Kulaghat union in Sadar upazila and if protection work is not completed soon, it will create a threat of erosion and flood.

Water Development Board (WDB) Executive Engineer Abdullah Al Mamun said construction firm Karmokar Agency was supposed to complete temporary protection work of Dharla river's 400-metre-long right bank with sand filled GO bags at a cost of Tk 1.2 crore by October 25 in 2017, but it missed the deadline. The firm was also contracted to repair the 30-metre-long protection work of the spar dyke on Teesta river's left bank at a cost of Tk 29 lakh, he added. 

Mamun said the contractor has been given a second deadline to complete the protection work at Dakkhin Shiberkuti by February this year.

 “As the firm didn't start work for protecting Dharla river bank, the dyke was eroded by the river in July last year, flooding four villages,” said Lokman Hossain, 63, of Dakkhin Shiberkuti village. Blaming WDB and the contractor, he said they are badly affected by the flood due to breach in the dyke.

Another local Shamsul Islam, 58, said sand filled GO textile bags have not been dumped to protect the river bank for months and they would face erosion and flood if the work is not completed.

Blaming WDB and the contractor, Kulaghat Union Parishad (UP) Chairman Idris Ali said his union faced serious flood last year as the dyke was eroded. He said it happened as the protection work was not done in time.

Nazrul Islam, 62, of Gobordhan village, said they protested preparing of CC blocks with low quality materials and stopped the repair work of the damaged spar dyke on the left bank of the Teesta river. He said the WDB officials assured them of completing the work as per schedule.