Padma fury begets fortune for many

About 150 feet of the shank disappeared in the last five days and another 60 feet on July 14.

Three other spars in the downstream are also threatened now following disappearance of the shank of spar No 1 at Shibganj, Water Development Board (WDB) sources and local people said.

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WDB officials blamed strong current of the river but other sources held the officials' negligence responsible for this.

Every year crores of taka are spent in the name of protecting the Padma bank there but to no effect as the work is not done timely, they alleged.

This year also, the construction work was started in March when the monsoon was approaching, they said. A total of Tk 119 crore was allocated for eight spars and 11 shanks under the Padma Bank Protection Project this year, they said.

When contacted, Abdul Wazed, chief engineer of Rajshahi WDB said sudden rise in the Padma following rush of water from the upstream caused the 'major breach' (in shank of spar No. 1).

But a WDB source said the WDB contractor who was doing the work was asked to dump 500 sandbags immediately when cracks developed on the shank on Thursday. But he failed.

Showing documents, the source said the contractor also failed to supply 25 lakh sandbags as per schedule and did not keep ready one lakh sandbags at the project site for any emergency.

The same contractor also defaulted earlier. WDB Quality Control Engineer Tofail Ahmed said another 60 feet of the shank was washed away on July 14 as the contractor did not supply required quantity of concrete blocks, boulders, stones and sandbags.

At that time, police was deployed at the project site to protect officials from local people's wrath when the sank was washed away, police sources said.

A WDB source said, construction of spar No.1 first began on March 16, 2001 at a cost of Tk 9.5 crore but the work could not be completed as it was started just before the flooding season.

Ultimately, the on-construction spar was washed away. But mysteriously, no action was taken against the officials concerned and the contractor, the sources said.

Abdul Wazed denied the allegation of negligence by the authorities and the contractor.

The contractor could not be contacted. His family sources said he was undergoing treatment in Dhaka.