A dangerous malpractice

On April 9, almost all the dailies of the country published the news of a government-funded building that had been constructed using bamboo sticks in the place of iron rods. The Department of Agricultural Extension of Chuadanga received the fund of Tk. 2.41 crore last year to build the two-storey Biological Research Centre and Lab in Darshana under Damurhuda upazila. Joy Construction Ltd. of Dhaka was constructing the building.

This was an example of criminal minded “creativity” in civil engineering construction work. Imagine a contractor using bamboo sticks in place of steel reinforcing rods in a Reinforce Cement Concrete (RCC) component of a load bearing structure. It was indeed a dangerous crime, which if not reported by the local people, could have later led to a serious disaster that could have even claimed many lives. We want exemplary punishment of those involved in this dangerous practice of using bamboo sticks instead of rods, hence risking people's lives.

Engr. S. A. Mansoor

Dhaka