Road unfinished as minister's order goes unheeded
Work on renovation of this portion of Rangamati-Khagrachhari road has remained suspended for the last 20 days although Communications Minister Obaidul Quader last August verbally ordered the executive engineer of Roads and Highways Department in Rangamati to complete the job within a week.Photo: STAR
Renovation work on a one kilometre stretch of the 65-kilometre-long Khagrachhari-Rangamati road is yet to be finished despite verbal instruction given by the communications minister in August this year to complete the job within a week. While visiting the area during Eid vacation, Communications Minister Obaidul Quader ordered Executive Engineer Md Ismaile Hossain of the Roads and Highways Department, Rangamati, to complete the repair work of the road within seven days. Accordingly, the authorities concerned gave the work order to a firm named United Construction allegedly without tendering process. The firm begun renovation work in September and completed only base-type-one work. The road renovation work has remained suspended for the last 20 days while stones and other road construction materials are being removed from there. Contacted, Executive Engineer Ismail Hossain said they did not give work order to United Construction owned by Md Tipu. The road repair work is being done departmentally, he added. “It is not possible to complete the work within a week through tendering procedure. We will soon invite tender to complete the unfinished work,” said Ismail Hossain. During a recent visit to the road, this correspondent found contractor Tipu giving instructions to the labourers who were shifting construction materials to another place. “I am collecting stone chips from here as I worked on this road earlier,” Tipu said. There is an allegation from other contractors that the authorities concerned always negotiate with Tipu and award works to United Construction.
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