<i> All because of mindless act</i>
Four shops beside a trench dug by contractors at DB Road in Gaibandha town collapsed during heavy rain yesterday. The contractors dug the hole to build a drain under a project of the municipal authorities to improve drainage at the district headquarters.Photo: STAR
Four shops at DB Road in Gaibandha town collapsed during downpour yesterday as contractors dug a trench beside the shops to build a drain. Fifteen other shops in the row remained on the verge of collapse since construction of the drain came to a halt two months ago. Gaibandha municipality has taken up a Tk 2.59 crore project to build a 2.4-km-long drain from Gaibandha Zila Parishad to LGED building to improve drainage in the town under the Second Town Integrated Flood Protection Project. Accordingly, contractors started digging a six feet deep trench along the road. But they stopped work as the authorities concerned did not remove 20 big trees and nine electric poles from the drain site. The work will resume after removal of the trees and electric poles from the site, said Salimuddin, assistant engineer of Gaibandha municipality. The municipal authorities have already asked Gaibandha Zila Parishad and Power Development Board to remove the trees and electric poles from work site, but they are yet to take any initiative in this regard, he added. The affected shop owners demanded compensation and threatened to sue the contractors and the municipal authorities if their demand was not met. Contacted, Mayor Md Shamsul Alam said the shops collapsed due to downpour. “We will sit with the affected shop owners soon to settle the compensation issue,” he said.
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