Bamboo in Construction: Engr, contractor to be charged

The Anti-Corruption Commission is going to file a charge sheet against a sub-assistant engineer of the Department of Public Health Engineering and two others in the case filed for using bamboo sticks instead of iron rods in the construction of Meghdomor Government Primary School in Gaibandha.

The ACC yesterday approved the charge sheet.

In the investigation of the case, ACC's Assistant Director Md Jakaria found that Arif Billah Dakua, the sub-assistant engineer, Abdul Khaleque, contractor of the construction work, and Saiful Islam, a construction worker, attempted to use bamboo sticks to misappropriate money.

The anti-graft body's Public Relations Officer Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya said the charge sheet would be submitted before the court soon.

According to the charge sheet, the engineer also did not maintain any log book of the work.

On April 18 last year, the ACC filed the case against the contractor and the sub-assistant engineer for allegedly using bamboo sticks instead of iron rods in the construction work with Gaibandha Sadar Police Station.

Police arrested Arif and Khaleque and produced the two before a Gaibandha court that sent them to jail.

Locals said Khaleque started the construction work after being awarded the work for Tk 8,50,000 as the lowest bidder on September 2015.

The construction workers worked at night and used bamboo sticks instead of iron rods, they alleged.

On April 9 last year, locals stopped the work and demanded exemplary punishment of the contractor.