A road constructed only three months ago in Santhia municipality of Pabna district has recently collapsed. The road, constructed at a cost of Tk 4.5 crores, is the busiest road of the area.
Several sections of this 2.5 km regional road of the municipality, stretching from Boailmari area to Amosh area, have collapsed recently, causing suffering to the people of the area.
The road was constructed under Improving Urban Governance & Infrastructure Program (IUGIP) project of LGED. The locals complained that the road was constructed with low-quality materials. As a result, it collapsed right after it was constructed. DCL & OC JV Construction Company got the work to construct the road.
It was learnt that, the carpeting work of the road was hurriedly completed last June. But other necessary work remained unfinished. Yet, the road was inaugurated by Deputy Speaker Shamsul Haque Tuku. The project still lacks street lighting and proper traffic signs. Recently, several sections of the road collapsed due to the absence of proper piling and failure to reinforce the sides with soil, resulting in damage from only light rainfall. As a result, vehicular movement in the area has been severely disrupted. Heavy vehicles cannot pass, and rickshaws and vans are plying on the road at great risk.
When this correspondent visited the area, it was seen that old palisade, instead of new palisade, were used in three places that includes the sections near the house of former Boalmari mayor Mirajul Islam Pramanik, near the house of Elin in the same village, and in Amosh. The soil was weak in those sections as well. As a result, the soil eroded during light rainfall, causing the palisade to fall into a pond. Additionally, the carpeting is coming off in several places, and cracks have appeared in some sections. Local residents fear that the road might collapse completely at any time.
Expressing his frustration over the irregularities in the construction of the road, Abdul Alim from Boaimari village said how can the road collapse and break apart even before the work is completed? There must be significant flaws in this project.
Local CNG-run auto rickshaw driver Siraj Mia said, for a long time, we have been driving our vehicles with great difficulty while carrying passengers. We had hoped that once the road construction was completed, our troubles on the road would ease.
Former municipal mayor Mirajul Islam Pramanik said due to the use of low-quality materials, several sections of the road have collapsed. If immediate action is not taken to prevent further damage, this road will soon become unusable.
When Contractor Harun, the owner of the contracting company DCL & OC JV, was asked about the irregularities in the road construction, he avoided addressing the issue.
Executive Engineer Khandaker Firozul Alam said that after learning about the issue, we conducted an investigation. The road collapsed due to weak soil and palisade, which couldn't withstand the rainfall. Since the work is still ongoing and the final bill hasn't been issued yet, the project is not complete yet.
Municipality Administrator and Assistant Commissioner (Land) Mod Rifatul Haque said there were old palisades there. So, new palisades were not built. As there was pond at the side of the road, the palisade fell on the pond. The contractor has been instructed to repair it. The final bill has not yet been paid to the contractor. If the contractor does not fix the road, the final bill will not be issued.
