The renovation work of a two-kilometre stretch of road between the Indurhat and Jilbari areas under Pirojpur's Nesarabad upazila has remained halted for more than a year.
The 5km rural road serves as an important route connecting Nesarabad and Nazirpur upazilas. At present, a 3km stretch of the road, including the 2km under renovation, lies in a sorry state, with vehicular movement halted for a long time. As such, thousands of local residents have been facing immense suffering in their daily commutes.
The Local Government Engineering Department in Pirojpur initiated renovation of the 2km stretch of road through Jilbari and Binna villages under the Important Rural Infrastructure Development Project (IRIDP-3) in April 2023. The work order for the Tk 2.75 crore project was awarded to Efte ETCL (Pvt) Ltd, with a one-year deadline.
However, before the deadline expired in April last year, the contractor firm halted the work after completing only around 40 percent of the renovation.
"Nesarabad is a local commercial hub. Several thousand people come here from Nazirpur and other neighbouring areas daily for different purposes. They have to bear immense hassle during their commute," said Azharul Islam Tutul from Jilbari village.
Photo: KM Habibur Rahman/Star
"There are several schools on the roadside, including two high schools near Binna Bazar. The students have to commute between their homes and schools on foot, since vehicles do not ply on this stretch of the road due to its deplorable condition. The suffering becomes unbearable during the monsoon," said Mahsin Reza, another local resident.
Meanwhile, another 1km stretch of the road has also become dilapidated and unfit for vehicular movement. So, people are now being compelled to commute either on foot or using waterways via engine-boats, said Anwar Hossain, an elderly resident.
Mehedi Hasan, another local, urged the authorities concerned to renovate the 3km damaged portion of the road to mitigate people's suffering.
Contacted, Md Raisul Islam, upazila engineer in Nesarabad, said they have had no communication with the contractor firm.
"We have informed higher authorities in this regard. We have also sent a proposal for renovation of the other one-kilometre damaged part," he added.
Photo: KM Habibur Rahman/Star
Allegedly, Merazul Islam, managing director of the contractor firm, fled the country after withdrawing Tk 2,000 crore from the fund for eight projects in the district, including this one, according to LGED sources.
Following this incident, most of the development works of the LGED in Pirojpur have remained suspended.
The Anti-Corruption Commission has filed eight cases accusing Merazul of embezzling around Tk 1,073 crore from eight projects of LGED in Pirojpur, said Md Aminul Islam, deputy director of the ACC Integrated District Office in Pirojpur.
"We are also investigating nine other projects to find out if there was any corruption in them," he said.
Merazul is the former chairman of Pirojpur's Bhandaria Upazila Parishad and also general secretary of the upazila unit Awami League. His elder brother, Mohiuddin Maharaj, is a former Pirojpur-2 lawmaker.
