The work has not been completed even 10 years after taking the initiative to set up a water treatment plant at a cost of Tk. 6 crore to supply safe and pure water to the households of the Lama Pourashava of Bandarban.
Residents of Lama Municipality in Bandarban still depend on water from rivers, mountain streams, springs and tube wells. As a result, the area remains prone to various water-borne diseases. In 2013, Bandarban Public Health and Engineering Department started the supply work by extracting water from Matamuhuri river and treating it, but the project has not been completed and the public suffering is still there.
In this, Tk. 6 crore have been allocated by the government for the construction of projects to meet the water needs of the hill communities, but there is no trace.
Sohrab Hossain, the Executive Engineer of Public Health Engineering Department of Bandarban, who was in charge at that time, said that the construction cost had increased while implementing the project. Revised estimate has been sent to Ministry of Planning. The contractor did not complete the project despite paying the bills to the company on time. At present I am not in the service, the one who is doing the duty there can say better.
Bandarban Public Health Engineering Department Engineer Anupam Dey said that in the light of reality, the project cost has increased by an additional Tk. 1 crore 87 lakh. The project cannot be completed due to lack of this amount of money. When asked how the contractor is withdrawing the entire amount, he said that he does not know.
It is learnt that during the financial year 2013-14, the project was started by Public Health Engineering at a cost of Tk. 6 crore under the water supply system development program in Lama Pourasahva. As the scope of work increased, it was revised and increased to Tk. 7 crore 87 lakh. Tk. 1 crore 87 lakhs project work is stopped due to non-approval of the Ministry of Planning and Finance.
According to local sources, in the project, M/s Ratan Sen Tangnchagya Contractor Company got the work order for construction of water treatment plant with capacity of 100 cubic meters per hour and laying pipe line through 4 packages. Tk. 3 crores have already been spent on the project.
According to the contractor, the work of 4 packages has been completed at a cost of Tk. 88 lakh 61 thousand taka for laying the pipe line. Due to lack of allocation, the work of a package of Tk. 42 lakh 49 thousand could not be completed. Besides, no mechanical, machineries and electrical works of the water treatment plant project have been done.
Lama Pourashava Mayor Zahirul Islam said that safe water is very important for Lama hill township. So if the project is launched it is possible to solve the water problem.
Abdur Razzak, Sub Assistant Engineer of Lama Upazila Public Health Engineering, said that problems have arisen due to mind-boggling projects without regard to government regulations and lack of supervision from higher authorities. If the Dhaka office wrote several times to the Bandarban Engineer to inform about the status of the project, no reply was given. As a result of which this project has become deadlocked.
Md. Ibrahim, a local resident, said, We had boundless hope as the Department of Public Health Engineering started the project to provide safe drinking water to the residents of Lama. As a result of the project being abandoned after doing some work, there is a waste of government money on the one hand and there is extreme frustration among the local residents on the other hand. Safe drinking water has been strongly demanded to protect the local people from suffering.