BANGLADESH NEWS
The government has abandoned a Tk 12-crore DCC project to build nine buildings for sweepers after probes found the buildings, halfway to completion, were too badly constructed to be retrofitted.
Of the nine structures, one collapsed in Dayaganj in May 2007. The remaining structures, which were declared uninhabitable last year, include two six-storey buildings in Dayaganj, four four-storey buildings in Dhalpur and two four-storey buildings in Sutrapur.
The DCC is now thinking about whether to tear down the eight buildings.
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 DCC sweepers and their families continue to live in those unfinished buildings illegally. They say they have nowhere to go. The LGRD ministry, apprehending a disaster, has asked the DCC to relocate the occupants.
DCC insiders say corruption is to blame for the poor construction of the buildings.
In 2005, through a directive of former mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka, the DCC initiated a project to construct 12 buildings for Tk 20.93 crore. Due to unavailability of land, the project was cut short to nine buildings at a cost of Tk 12.21 crore.
The nine buildings were supposed to be completed by 2007. But none of the nine contractors could meet the deadline. The construction was suspended after a six-storey building tumbled down in Dayaganj.
Three officials, including the project director, were held responsible for the faulty construction of the Dayaganj building. They were, however, handed down minor punishment like withholding of promotion for a couple of years.
The project director was even given more responsibilities.
In late 2010, the DCC employed a Buet team to probe the remaining eight buildings' usability. The probe team submitted its report on September 21 last year, declaring the buildings were unsafe and uninhabitable.
The report mentioned that the strength of concrete in the buildings was very low and piling was very weak. Because of these conditions, the foundation of these buildings was inadequate for retrofitting.
Following the Buet report, the government's Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division issued a letter to the LGRD ministry on March 13, recommending punitive action against the officials responsible for the irregularities in the construction.
The LGRD ministry in a letter on April 24 asked the DCC to investigate and identify those responsible for the faulty construction of the buildings. But the DCC has so far done nothing.
Abu Alam Mohammad Shahid Khan, secretary of the Local Government Division, on April 30 told the authorities were firm on taking action against the irregularities and had already taken some steps to that end.
DCC Chief Engineer Md Jahangir Alam on May 2 said a committee would be formed to identify the officials responsible for the irregularities within a month.
He said if the authorities did not find an alternative, they would bring down the buildings. This would be done after taking permission from the government.
The fiasco resulted in a loss of Tk 12.21 crore from the exchequer plus the Tk 40 lakh the DCC spent on a consultant which suggested retrofitting the buildings to make them usable. The Buet report, however, considered this a bad recommendation.
A visit to the buildings revealed that over 1,000 cleaners along with their families were living at high risk.
"The building I live in tilted after an earthquake around a year ago, and yet I am living here as I don't have an alternative," said Din Mohammad, an occupant of one of the two four-storey half-done buildings at Sutrapur.
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