Almost half of a Tk2 crore 23 lakh boat passage has been built with poor quality sand and rocks in the absence of the authorities' oversight of it over Shaila canal connecting Patharghat and Rakkhilabarhi village in Gopalganj's Tungipara.
Seeking anonymity, a labourer told the Dhaka Tribune, "Pakshi sand is of good quality and a bit pricey. Instead of using it, the contractor blended Madhumati and Sylhet sand together and then used it in the casting of the passage construction."
"Besides this, dust-mixed rocks were used in concrete blocking work," he said. As per work schedule, use of Pakshi sand is a must in the construction of the boat passage.
"The contractor is not only using poor quality sand, rocks, but also rods and piling sheets while building the passage," said another labourer, seeking anonymity.
A Water Development Board official, preferring not to be named said, "The project site falls under a quite inaccessible area and so officials cannot go and oversee the construction work regularly."
"Taking advantage of it, the contractor used the substandard items in the construction work," he said.
Our correspondent also visited the site and found piles of Madhumati sand, which is available on a throwaway price. The work of piling, wing walls and some others have already been completed.
Messrs Meherul Alam, a contracting firm, is building the boat passage. The work of the boat passage began in the middle of 2012.
Manager of the contracting firm Md Babul Mia, also admitted the use of low-quality sand, but denied
any irregularity in the passage construction.
"No irregularity has been done in the work of rod, piling and wing wall. We are only doing the casting work with local sand, instead of Pakshi sand. As for rocks, we are using the rocks of that quality, which are usually used across the country," he said.
"The Water Development Board is also overseeing our work. Our work will pass the hurdle of BUET test easily because we are not compromising over the quality of the work," said Manager Babul.
Nikhil Chandra Biswas, sub-divisional engineer at Gopalganj Water Development Board also admitted the use of substandard materials in the construction work.
"We have put on hold the construction work for now after learning about the use of poor quality sands and rocks," he told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday, adding, "The contractor has been called to the site.
"We will conduct a BUET test over it and see whether quality has been ensured so far."