Pirojpur, Sep 05 (V7N) – In Mathbaria Municipality, Pirojpur, the Coastal City Environmental Infrastructure Project (CTEIP), funded by the Government of Bangladesh and the Asian Development Bank, and supported technically by the Local Government Engineering Department and the Public Health Engineering Department, was implemented with a budget of Tk 51,42,03,075 (Fifty-One Crore Forty-Two Lakh Three Thousand Seventy-Five).
 
This initiative aimed to provide potable water through the construction of groundwater reservoirs, a pump house, two overhead tanks, pipeline networks, a surface water treatment plant, and elevated reservoirs, utilizing approximately 6 kilometers of MS pipes.
 
Since the inauguration of the water supply system on April 1, 2021, the MS pipes have been plagued with leakage problems. These issues necessitate frequent, labor-intensive, and costly repairs, leading to the wastage of about one lakh liters of water daily. Ongoing repairs have made it difficult to provide a consistent water supply to municipal residents. On July 1, 2024, Md. Raisul Islam, the former municipal administrator and assistant commissioner (land) of Mathbaria, suggested replacing the MS pipes with HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene) pipes and highlighted the problem in a written proposal to the district commissioner of Pirojpur.
 
An investigation revealed that the project involved the acquisition of 10 acres of agricultural land in Surjomoni village, 3rd ward of Tikikata union, to establish the water supply infrastructure. The city was connected through a 6-kilometer pipeline network. When requested for details, the municipal executive officer and engineering staff initially avoided providing information. Eventually, records from the municipality indicated that there were no available documents regarding the project's schedule. Throughout the project's execution, 18 officials, including the Project Director, Deputy Project Director, Assistant Engineers, Sub-Assistant Engineers, Consultant Krishna Pod Raye-CTEIP, Local Government Engineering Department, Dhaka, Mayor Rafiquddin Ahmed Ferdous, and Executive Engineer Abdus Salek, were responsible for oversight. The Project Director from the Local Government Engineering Department, Dhaka, granted a satisfactory completion certificate upon finishing the project.
 
 
Despite having sufficient oversight personnel, there were incidents of theft and irregularities shielded by the ruling party. Issues included financial mismanagement and irregularities in the land acquisition for two water tanks in wards 7 and 8 of the municipality.
 
Md. Nazrul Islam Howlader from South Sonakhali village expressed his discontent over the acquisition of land owned by his wife, Shirin Akhtar, by the then-ruling party mayor Rafiquddin Ahmed Ferdous for the water tank. Despite legal proceedings and arbitration, they received little compensation and were left without recourse.
 
Anonymous sources within the municipality revealed that, contrary to instructions to use new, high-quality MS pipes with 8 mm thickness and 12-inch diameter, old, substandard pipes from Dholaikhala were used. This led to leakage problems within two years. Efforts to inform authorities about the use of inferior materials were met with threats and job insecurity during the project's implementation.
 
When faults emerged in the project after two years, Executive Engineer Abdus Salek managed to evade responsibility by influencing former Administrator Ariful Haque. Salek is now employed at Muladi Municipality, Barisal. Investigations also disclosed that Municipal Executive Officer Mohammad Harun-or-Rashid and Executive Engineer Abdus Salek have jointly developed an eight-story building named "Surjya Dighal Bari" on 14 katha of land at Munshi’s Garage, Muslim Graveyard Road in Ward 21 of Barisal City Corporation.
 
With the Executive Engineer position currently vacant, development activities in Mathbaria Municipality are experiencing delays. Supervision Engineer Consultant Krishna Pod Raye deflected responsibility, stating to Voice7 News, "I was not present until the project's completion." When asked about potential political influence, he remarked, "What can I say? You can infer."
 
Former Executive Engineer Abdus Salek did not respond to phone calls.
 
Municipal Executive Officer Mohammad Harun-or-Rashid informed Voice7 News, "I have no connection to the CTEIP project."
 
The newly appointed municipal administrator and Additional District Commissioner (General) Madhabi Roy stated to Voice7 News, "I have recently assumed this role, and I am not in a position to comment on the matter."
 
END/MRS/SMA/