DJ Venkatesh
Diglipur, June 09: In a brazen case of wastage of taxpayers’ money, a construction in remote Diglipur collapsed within 30 days after completion. According to reports, use of substandard materials and non-adherence to benchmarks caused the collapse of the Check Dam at Kalipur Gram Panchayat, Shibpur near the residence of one Nanugopal Dey after minor drizzle on May 22 this year. However, the executing agency has reportedly sped up efforts to settle the payments of the errant private contractor for apparent reasons.
As per information, the Agriculture Department constructs Check Dams to regulate flow of rainwater to farming zones. The Zilla Parishad identifies the farm fields and prepares estimates for the project for which the Agriculture Department expends funds from its treasury. One such Check Dam was proposed near the house of Nanugopal Dey in Kalipur Gram Panchayat and the work was awarded to the agency named Hindustan Construction Coop. Society Ltd on April 13, 2015.
The project was completed using inferior materials and the private contractor allegedly deviated from the standards of construction. Even the concerned Junior Engineer and the Assistant Engineer reportedly failed to monitor the construction activity. Eventually after the completion of the work, the Check Dam was ready for handover to the concerned department but on May 22, the newly constructed Check Dam caved in during a minor drizzle on May 22, 2015. It has also been learnt that till now not concrete test has been carried on the Check Dam.
The top brass of the administration should take a serious note of the incident and order a probe to determine lapses that cause losses to the government exchequer. Those found guilty should be taken to task and the private contractor, who executed the flawed construction, should be blacklisted immediately.
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