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Magura Road Repair Project

Funds set to go back as 2 govt depts clamour over authority

Hossain Serai, kagura
Renovation of Arpara-Shalikha road has come to a halt as the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) and the Roads and Highways (R&H) Department are fighting over management of the road while Tk 70 lakh assistance by Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the project is also on way to be returned, official sources said.
Talking to this correspondent LGED Assistant Engineer in Shalikha upazila, Golam Mostafa, said. "Accoding to the government gazette notification (of 2006) the road is under the LGED department after taking up of a project involving Tk 70 lakh for its renovation.
"We had also engaged a contractor, but the fate of the project has now become uncertain as R&H authorities claimed that the road is under their department and sent legal-notice to our Executive Engineer asking him to stop the renovation work.
"Taka 70 lakh sanctioned for the project is on way of being returned to ADB as the work could not be completed in the stipulated time”, Mostafa said.
LGED Executive Engineer Mujibur Rahman Sikder said. "Though, following the legal notice, we were forced to stop the renovation work, I have already talked to the Deputy'Commissioner (DC) and hope it will be removed after the meeting of the District Development Coordination Committee to be held in the last week of June”.
Following a directive from the DC, LGED took an initiative to renovate 5 km of the road from Junari village to Hazrahati area under the post-flood rehabilitation project and invited tender, official sources said.
But after winning the bid, when the contractor embarked on the work in April this year, Sub-Divisional Engineer (SDE) of R&H Department Zahangir Alam verbally ordered him to stop the work, claiming that the road under their department.
He also threatened of legal step.
Later, (on May 28) a legal notice was also sent to the LGED.
In the meantime, R&H department invited a tender for the same work involving Tk 32 lakh and engaged another contractor to
renovate 2.5 km of the road. The contractor also started renovation of about 2.5 km of the road from Dighi village to Raijadapur area. But he also stopped wok for unknown causes. The contractor however could not be reached despite several attempts, as he was not available in Magura.
When contacted, R&H Executive Engineer Rezaul Karim said, “Gazette notification of the Planning Commission says the road is under my department and the contactor engaged by the department would complete renovation work within the scheduled time”.
Assistant Engineer of Zilla Paishad Anisur Rahman however claimed that although the road was under his department earlier, according to the ’classification' only Zilla Parishad or LGED is entitled to perform construction, re-construction and renovation work of the road.
Local public representatives however opined that considering the importance of the road, immediate initiative should be taken to end the dispute between the departments.