Khulna people to miss the memorial this year, too
The memorial at Gallamari in Khulna district is not likely to open for people to pay homage to the Liberation War martyr's on March 26 (Independence Day) this year as the construction has remained suspended in the halfway due to non-payment of dues to the contractor. Photo: STAR
People of Khulna will not be able to lay wreaths at the new memorial at Gallamari to pay their homage to Liberation War martyrs on March 26 (Independence Day) this year as the memorial has remained incomplete. Only 20 percent of the construction work has remained undone since November last year allegedly due to negligence of persons concerned with the technical sub-committee. The decision to construct the memorial was taken at a meeting held on May 22 in 2008 at the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives and Khulna Zila Parishad was directed to perform responsibilities required to construct the memorial on three acres of land at Gallamari. Amirul Islam of LGED head office in Dhaka is the main designer of the memorial. A fund of Tk 2 crore was allocated by the then caretaker government for construction of the memorial and tenders were invited on October 21 in 2008. Khulna Zila Parishad sought approval of the ministry for appointing contractor. But approval was not given as engineers of Khulna Zila Parishad allegedly played foul game from behind the screen. Later in June of 2009, tenders were invited for the second time and Azad Elora Joint Venture got work order to construct the memorial as the lowest bidder at an estimated cost of Tk 2 crore 16 lakh and 27 thousand. A five-member technical committee was formed with the deputy commissioner of Khulna as convenor to monitor implementation of the Gallamari Memorial Project. Four other members of the technical committee are chief executive officer of Khulna Zila Parishad, executive engineer of Public Works Department, executive engineer of LGED and an assistant engineer of Khulna Zila Parishad. Azad Elora Joint Venture got work order on November 15 in 2009 from Khulna Zila Parishad for implementation of the project. But the construction firm did not complete the remaining 20 percent works of the project as the technical committee refused to pay the remaining bill amounting to Tk 87 lakh and 24 thousand despite submission of the bill on November 30 last year. Instead of approving the bill, the technical committee formed another three-member sub-committee with the executive engineer of LGED as convenor to investigate progress of works and submit a report on findings. Members of the technical sub-committee are yet to submit report on findings although they visited the construction site twice for investigation about progress and quality of works, sources said. When asked, proprietor of the construction firm Touhidul Islam Azad said that it would not be possible for him to do the remaining 20 percent work for giving the finishing touch of the memorial unless the last bill of Tk 87.24 lakh is fully paid. On the other hand, the Chief Executive Officer of Khulna Zila Parishad AN Ahmad Ali said payment would be made after getting final clearance from Amirul Islam, the main designer of Gallamari memorial.
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