In Bauphal of Patuakhali, the road built under the supervision of LGED at a cost of 2.5 crore taka collapsed less than two months later. Traffic has stopped. The locals are in trouble. The road is in the Shoula Bailey Bridge in Kalaia Union of Upazila to North Shoula Govt Primary School Via Pandit Bari Kaparting road.
Upazila LGED office was contacted for information regarding the constructed road, but the concerned officials did not give the information to the journalists. The supervision officer of the construction work was also not found. However, according to information provided by reliable sources, a contractor company named Mercas Salim Store of Patuakhali received the work order for road construction in the financial year 2020-21. About two and a half crore taka are spent on the construction of about 2 kilometers of cupping road.
It was seen in person on Thursday, that the construction of the cupping road from Shoula Bailey Bridge to North Shoula Government Primary School on the Kalaia - Dasmina road was completed only two months ago. In front of the panchayat house on the constructed road, the landslide spread about three meters.
It is closed to traffic. In the dark of the night, the tragedy is happening. Locals have put up red cloths at dangerous places.
The local residents said that at the beginning of the road construction work, the people of the contractor company built the road with cheap construction materials. They were told several times but the matter was not taken into consideration. Locals claim that the road collapsed due to irregularities in the construction work.
The concerned ward UP member Mo Altaf Hossain said, "The road construction is collapsing within two months due to poor quality of work. The matter was informed to the contractor and the concerned
department several times but they did not heed.
In this regard, the owner of Mercas Salim Store. Salim aka Muddar Salim said, "If the road collapses, what is the fault of the contractor?"
Upazila LGED engineer Mo Sultan Hossain said, "Measures will be taken after talking to the contractor."
