Tk 50 crore embankment sinks under sand in a month

Construction of an embankment on Teesta river was completed on June 30 in Gobordhan area of ​​Mahishkhocha union under Aditmari upazila of Lalmonirhat.

The Bangladesh Water Development Board implemented the project, aimed at strengthening protection of people on a 2,450-metre stretch of the river bank against erosion, at a cost of Tk 49,349,500 in eight phases.

However, just a month after the work was completed, the embankment collapsed under the sand.

Residents have denounced serious irregularities in the implementation of the project.

Wishing to remain anonymous, some locals alleged that the contractors not only used substandard concrete blocks and geo-bags for the project but also illegally extracted sand from the project area and sold it for around Tk 7 crore, making the embankment area vulnerable and eventually causing it to sink under sand after a flash flood hit the area days after the project was completed.

“Earlier, in case of flash flood, the water would recede within a few days. This time, the water is not receding even within two weeks. The embankment has become a curse for the residents instead of a blessing as it was not built in a planned manner,” said Mafizul Islam, a local farmer.

According to BWDB sources in Lalmonirhat, four contracting firms – M/s Rupantar, Techbay International, M/s Mostafa and Sons and MC-BC JV – were entrusted with the project and a total of 4,55,284 concrete blocks and 1.30 lakh geo-bags filled with sand weighing 250 kilograms were used to construct the embankment in eight packages.

Wishing to remain anonymous, a BWDB official in Lalmonirhat said five of the eight packages of the project were controlled by Ershad Hossain, younger brother of Mizanur Rahman, APS of the former social welfare minister.

Due to Ershad's political influence, BWDB officials were unable to supervise the project work properly, he added.

Contacted, Ershad Hossain declined to comment on the matter.

Farhad Hossain, owner of the contracting company M/s Rupantar, said he did not visit the project site as the site manager was taking care of everything.

Since a natural disaster may cause problems in the project work, the contracting company has been given a one-year defect liability period. The damaged parts of the embankment will be repaired if the authorities concerned issue a letter to the contractor regarding this, he added.

When contacted, Shunil Kumar, executive engineer of BWDB in Lalmonirhat, however, refuted the allegations of irregularities in the project.

“The project has been implemented properly and in a planned manner. The concrete blocks have been covered with sand as a huge amount of sediment was brought by the flash flood. The BWDB team in charge of the project completion report will visit the project area very soon. If any defect is found, the contractor will rectify it during the DLP period,” he said.