WDB fails to complete work in time

Our Correspondent
SYLHET, Mar 03: The Water Development Board (WDB) couldn't complete their work on the crop protection embankments in Sunamganj although the deadline ended on February 28.
However, the WDB in their statement claimed 60 per cent progress in the work, but locals said the progress is not more than 50 per cent even.
The government this year sanctioned Tk 1.22 billion for 935 schemes in the region. In the pretext of last year's large scale corruption and mismanagement, the government this year introduced a new system for executing the embankment work through the Project Implementation Committees (PICs), with participation of local leading people and land owners under the supervision of the upazila administration.
But the trouble would be much more this year due to mismanagement and irregularities in PIC formation, alleged a number of cropland owners in Derai and Tahirpur upazilas. Even some union council chairmen alleged so at official meetings in different upazilas.
WDB's Executive engineer, Sunamganj Abu Baker Siddique said on Saturday the progress is about 60 per cent and rest of the works on the embankments would be completed soon. Besides, WDB sub-assistant engineers, who had prepared unnecessary or fake schemes, would face departmental actions soon, he added.
"We had already written to the higher authority against them", he further said.
WDB superintending engineer, Sylhet circle, SM Shariful Islam said, "The deadlines couldn't be followed for reasons. We will try to complete it soon."
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