#Title

KHULNA’S BASTUHARA AREA
Locals suffer for delay in drainage work
DIPANKAR ROY, Khulna
“Every day for the last couple of weeks, my son has to cross extensive mud patches to go to school. He is tired and does not want to go to school anymore,” said Rumana Akhtar, a resident of road-11 of Bastuhara area in Khulna city.
Rumana repeatedly requested contractors to finish the work, but they did not pay any heed to her plea.
“The mud piles on the lane adjacent to my house would be around 10 feet high,” she added.
To establish a proper drainage system around the area, Khulna City Corporation has been digging up various roads and alleys in Bastuhara for a couple of weeks.
Alongside confining locals within their homes, construction workers have also disconnected water pipes set up by Khulna Wasa.
The area is home to a number of marginalised families, mostly earning their daily bread as traders and hawkers.
Even before the work started, they were facing various problems in the area such as waterlogging and narrow roads. Now, this delay in the drainage work has doubled their sufferings, they added.
Locals have been critical of the authorities’ decision to take up this project during monsoon instead of dry seasons and many have called them “insensitive”, as they are yet to take any action in this regard.
“The contractors did not take necessary precautions before working on such a small road. They damaged Wasa pipes, and now water keeps leaking from it, inundating homesteads,” said Anwar Hossain, a local.
The local ward councillor was informed of the matter, but he is yet to take any steps to solve the problem, he alleged.
Visiting the area recently, this correspondent saw very few people stepping outside due to the dilapidated condition of the roads. While some houses were almost covered under mud piles, many used makeshift brick, bamboo and wood structures to protect their walls, which could collapse at any minute.
According to KCC, the 450-metre drain is being constructed under Development of Drainage System to Eliminate Waterlogging in Khulna City, spending Tk 1.12 crore.
The project was scheduled to be completed by June 15. Sonia Enterprise secured the construction tender for this project.
The construction firm could not finish the work on time due to various reasons. It has already applied for an extension and hopes to finish the work soon, informed Zakir Hossain, the firm’s owner.
“The area’s soil is of poor quality. Its loose texture leads to frequent collapses, and that is what is making the work difficult. The expenses are also higher than quoted in the contract,” he added.
The delayed work has caused around 70 local families to suffer for over a week, informed Mafuzur Rahman Liton, local ward councillor.
“I have asked contractors to speed up the work,” he added.