Due to the contractor’s negligence, the construction of the four-storied market under construction at Gulta Bazar in Tarash of Sirajganj under the “Countrywide Rural Market Infrastructure Development Project” (CRMIDP) has not been completed in the last two years and 5 months. But the time to complete the work in the contract was one year and five months.
Consequently, the construction of the market has stopped, and the traders are deprived of doing business in the modern market. They demanded that the market construction should be completed as soon as possible. According to the sources of the Tarash Local Engineering Department, the unique feature of the market under construction is that the work will be completed up to the second floor of the market, established on a four-story foundation. The ground floor will have meat shed, vegetable shed, and fish shed. And the second floor will have 13 state-of-the-art rooms designated for shops. Which will be allocated among the local traders according to the rules. Apart from this, the market will have a fire fighting system, solar power and generator facility 24 hours. There will also be a separate sanitation system for men and women buyers and sellers in that state-of-the-art market. Besides, there will be a thoroughly modern market with all security measures to protect the valuable assets of the traders.
To implement the said objectives, the Sirajganj District Engineering Directorate invited tenders to construct a four-storey market at a preliminary cost of Tk 1 crore 83 lakh 38 thousand 586 in the traditional Gulta market of remote Talam union of the upazila on February 19, 2019. Pius Construction’s contractor participated in the tender and got the work order. According to him, Pius Construction started the market construction on March 1, 2020. The contractor was supposed to be completed on August 30, 2021, but after one year and 5 months, about 75 per cent of the market was completed. Then suddenly, the contractor stopped the construction of the market. However, after the shutdown, the contractor extended the working hours again. But even then, they still need to finish the remaining construction. As a result, the construction of the four-storey market in Gulta Bazaar has been stopped for one year and 5 months.
Fazlul Haque, the trader of that market, added that the time to finish the construction of the market passed one year and 5 months ago. However, the work of the market was not completed due to the contractor’s negligence. However, when the market opens, market traders can do business comfortably with modern facilities and security. But traders are being deprived of it. In this regard, SM Sohail Rana, President of the Gulta Bazar Hat Committee, said that maybe the profit will be reduced due to the increase in the price of construction materials, so the contractor hasn’t completed the work.
By doing this, the purpose for which the government is building the market is being used. However, the owner of Pius Construction.
Parvez Hossain said that the construction work of the Gulta Bazar market has been stopped for the time being as he is busy with other work elsewhere. The remaining work will be completed soon. Regarding the suspension of the modern Gulta Bazar market construction work, Tarash Upazila Engineer Itekhar Charwar told Dhræb Kalbela that the contractor has been given a demand letter to complete the market work. The remaining work may be started by the contractor in a few days.
