Lebukhali-Amragachhia Road Renovation Finally Stops
Tk 100cr needed, only Tk 2cr allocated, half of it refunded
A three-wheeler plies run-down Lebukhali--Dumki Road in Galachipa upazila of Patuakhali, risking life of the passengers. Renovation work of the road came to halt at the initial stage due to fund constraints.Photo: STAR
Renovation work of 86 km long roads from Lebukhali to Amragachhia through Dumki, Baufal, Dashmina and Galachipa upazilas has stopped at the initial stage due to fund constraints. Authorities primarily allocated only Tk 2 crore against the estimated cost of Tk 99.20 crore for the road renovation project of Roads and Highways Department (RHD) in Patuakhali, but the department recently took back Tk one crore of the allocated fund in the name of an emergency work, RHD sources said. As all the four construction firms engaged in the road renovation stopped their work following the fund withdrawal, the project meant for easing communication of over 12 lakh people faces uncertainty. After approval by the Executive Committee for National Economic Council, RHD in 2010-11 fiscal year started renovation work of the 86 km roads under a three-year project. In the first phase, RHD issued work order on April 10 this year for renovation of 18 km road from Lebukhali to Kalaiya through Dumki and Baufal upazilas at a cost of Tk 20 crore. Construction firm Mahfuz Enterprise got work order for 12 km while Eunus and Brothers, Hazi Enterprise and AK and MA got it for two km each. In June this year, RHD gave allocation Tk 2 crore for renovation of 18 km road and the four firms started their work by breaking main base of the road. But all the firms stopped their work as the RHD recently took back Tk one crore in the name of an emergency work. Mahfuz Khan, owner of Mahfuz Enterprise, said, "Authorities took back Tk one crore of the allocated Tk 2 crore but we have already sent construction materials worth over four times the money to the site." "We will not restart the renovation work if the authority does not give further allocation. We all the contractors informed RHD in writing about our decision," he said. Kamolendu Majumder, executive engineer for Patuakhali RHD, said, "Recently the higher authorities took back Tk one crore from the Tk 2 crore that was allocated for the project. We sent letter to them narrating the situation and I hope fresh allocation will be given by December."
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