Arsenic and iron removing water treatment plant (AIRP) for the residents of bordering Moheshpur municipality could not be started in two years of completion of the construction work when the power supply authority West Zone Power Distribution Company Limited (WZPDCL) is not connecting the plant for an arrear for Taka Four crore lying pending with the municipality for years together.
The situation has been depriving about 35 thousand people of the municipality when they had been suffering badly for want of pure drinking water for decades together and compelled to consume contaminated water. Most of the tube wells in the upazila were contaminated with severe arsenicosis since long.
Moheshpur municipality mayor Abdur Rashid Khan when contacted said as per their proposal some Yunus and Brothers had completed 95 percent of the construction work including making 25 kilometer pipelines, establishing of three pump houses and some other related work about two years back. The said contractor had even withdrawn 80 percent of his bills against the work.
But the authorities of WZPDCL is not connecting the plant when they could not pay some arrear bills to the power supply company. They are also not in a position to complete the remaining work for want of power connections. Non payment of power bills by the previous mayor of the municipality had increased the sum of arrear, the mayor said. He urged upon the authorities to connect the plant at an early time for the interest of the town dwellers.
Office of the sub assistant engineer (SAE) of the department of public health engineering (DPHE) at Moheshpur sources said a project titles Arsenic and iron removing water treatment plant for the municipality at a cost of Taka 429,64,775 when the existence of arsenic was severe and the people were suffering from the water related diseased due to arsenic. The said contractor was advised to start the work on June 6 of 2017. The work was ended accordingly without some power related work and electricity connections.
WZPDCL resident engineer (RE) at Moheshpur Sekender Hasan Jahangir when contacted said they had received a proposal of the municipality for power connection for the AIRP. But they are not in a position to respond the proposal when they (Municipality) not paying an arrear of Taka over tow crore.
Only guidelines for the higher authority of WZPDCL might solve the problems, RE said.
