The government has decided to build 440 small flats for cleaners in Dhaka – a deal that is going to cost 14.98% more than estimation because of a three-year delay and a re-floating of tender.
The cleaners – better known as sweepers who keep the roads and streets of the capital clean – work under the two city corporations. The new flats are planned for those who work under the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).
Currently, there are two “sweeper colonies” in the capital – one in Kamalapur and the other in Dayaganj, both built in the early 1990s during HM Ershad’s tenure – that accommodate most of the 8,000 sweepers who work under the DSCC.
In 2007, a six-storied colony in Dayaganj collapsed soon after it was erected before anyone could move in. There are allegations that the erstwhile united Dhaka City Corporation authority resorted to huge corruption, using poor building materials that led to the collapse. The remnants of the building can be still seen.
The Anti-Corruption Commission is currently investigating an allegation of using “poor quality raw materials” for building the colony that led to a Tk58 lakh loss of public money.
Because the two existing colonies were meant to accommodate only about 5,132 people permanently, the housing crunch has always remained acute because the building that collapsed was of no help. Apart from the congestion factor, shortage of water, gas and sewerage have been making life really difficult for the residents.
There are two other temporary colonies in Dhaka – one in Hajaribagh and the other near the Mitford Hospital. The living conditions are extremely poor in those colonies and the boarders desperately need alternate dwellings.
Ramu Das, a resident of the Dayagonj colony where most of the sweepers live, told Dhaka Tribune: “We are living in the first building that was constructed in 1990. It has been really painful because of the raging crisis of water, sewerage and gas supply.”
On the ground and the first floors of the colony, there were a number of shops given out on rent. However, those on the first floor are now being used by many sweeper families as one-room flats. Understandably, there is no ventilation, sanitation and water-gas supply in those shops.
“We pay Tk1,000 as rent for living in the tiny shop-rooms without gas and electricity,” Ramu described their ordeal.
According to the documents of the recently finalised tender, prepared three years ago and re-floated earlier this year, the estimated cost for building the 472sq-ft flat was Tk68.67 crore.
But, Navana Construction Limited, the lowest bidder, has quoted Tk78.96 crore. Initially, 11 firms quoted prices, of whom four were selected.
The same tender was floated once before in 2013 but was cancelled because the government had said none of the bidders were qualified enough for the work. A total of 13 firms competed in that tender.
A proposal, signed by LGRD Ministry Secretary Manjur Hossain, says the government has plans for constructing five 10-storied buildings for cleaners who work under the two city corporations of Dhaka. Starting at the end of this year, the project is set to end in 2017.
The proposal also says that the price quoted by Navana is higher than the estimated cost but is 5.6% lower than the current market price.
The secretary told the Dhaka Tribune that considering the level of inflation over the last three years, the rise in project cost was justified.
At present, there are about 55 lakh sweepers in the country who work under various local government authorities.
About 300 years ago, during the British rule, the forefathers of these sweepers were brought from Indian states such as Madras, Kanpur, Hyderabad and other states in the south. They were mainly ultra-poor people who came here looking for a better life.
Because the cast they belong to is considered the lowest among the Hindus, they have always found it hard to find accommodation because of the social taboo against them.
