Saiful Islam, Baufal Correspondent:
The contractor has gone missing, leaving the work of a five-storey building of Madanpura Secondary School in Baufal upazila of Patuakhali unfinished. As there has been no progress on the building for three years, students are taking risks in the under-construction building due to class shortages. This is disrupting normal educational activities.
According to sources from the District Education Engineering Department, on September 26, 2019, the Department of Education Engineering invited tenders for the construction of a 5-storey academic building under the Private Educational Institution Development Project. The cost was estimated at 4 crore 12 lakh 88 thousand 681 taka. A contractor from Barisal won the tender. The work order was given to the contractor on January 5, 2020. According to the contract, the work was supposed to be completed on July 12, 2021. But the contractor has gone missing, leaving the work of the building unfinished.
On the spot, it was seen that although the roof casting work has been completed up to the third floor of the five-story building, there is no security wall around it. Going out around the building, ninth grade student Ziyad Hossain said, "We are very afraid to go to class because there is no wall around the building. Also, if it rains a little hard, we get wet." Tenth grade student Umme Kulsum said, "The toilet was also demolished when the old building was demolished. The toilet work in the new building has not been completed. We are suffering greatly due to this."
The school's headmaster, Md. Golam Mustafa, said that work has been stopped for three years. There is no trace of the contractor. The matter has been reported to the concerned authorities in writing several times. Since the construction of the building has been stopped, the furniture that has been provided for the classrooms is also on the verge of being destroyed. The biggest problem occurs during the monsoon season. The attendance of students in the school is low due to the students getting wet in the rain water.
Executive Engineer of the District Education Engineering Department, Moshafiqur Rahman, said that a letter has been sent to the project director recommending cancellation of the contract with the contractor for not completing the work as per the contract. A new contractor will be appointed and the unfinished work will be completed as soon as possible.
