A 225m drain built in Gaibandha’s Sadullapur upazila is of almost no use to locals as the construction was unplanned.
The drain built some four months ago has now been filled with wastes while shops were also set up on it in some places.
Sources in the Gaibandha office of the Roads and Highways Department said the drain stretching from Charmatha to Talertal area on Gaibandha-Madarganj road was constructed at a cost of Tk21.83 lakh and construction was finished in mid-April this year.
The drain was constructed with no holes and hence cannot remove water, resulting in waterlogging even after a little rain. It is also filled with waste materials and is polluting the environment.
Alam Miah, a trader in Charmatha, said the drain is near his shop and he has to endure the stink of waste every day.
“The drain is supposed to remove water but it itself has now turned into a problem.”
Another trader in the area, Ramen Chandra Saha, said many parts of the drain were damaged as it was constructed without a solid plan.
“Shops have been built on some parts of the drain and there is no way to identify the presence of the drain in those places,” he said.
Jahedul Islam, a tea seller, said he set up his tea stall on the drain because it was no longer serving its purpose.
“Also, when I set up my stall, the area was free from mosquitoes and flies but now those have become a daily dose of nuisance.”
The drain was constructed after locals, especially traders, constantly called for the authorities to build something that will remove water and prevent waterlogging.
“But now it is creating problems instead of solving any,” said Abul Bashar Mohammad Hannan, convener of Sadullapur Nagorik Committee.
“Vegetables produced in 11 nearby unions are sold at Sadullapur market and it was very important to have a drain here. But it was built without any plan, and now traders as well as others are subjected to troubles.
“Not only that, the project seems to have been a complete waster of public money. We have informed the authorities concerned of the problems but no step has yet been taken by them,” Hannan said.
Mahbubul Alam Khan, executive engineer at Gaibandha office of the Roads and Highways Department, admitted that construction of the drain was not based on a solid plan.
But he also pointed out that locals as well as traders doing business near or on the drain were not conscious enough not to throw waste materials in it.
“A lack of consciousness on part of locals is responsible for the present state of the drain,” added the government official.
