The construction of the Chuadanga District Family Planning Office building has not been completed even after seven years. Although the allocated money for this project, which began in March 2018, has been exhausted, the construction work rremained stalled for years. The work was stopped after the allegations that a part of the building was being constructed using brick wastes. Although the work restarted after a few days, it was stopped again after the fund ran out.
As a result, the officers and employees of the organization are working in a risky, abandoned building. Office work is being carried out in two small rooms of the dilapidated Collector's Building in the Chuadanga District Commissioner's office premises. Often the plaster of the roof were falling off and necessary documents getting damaged in rainwater. Chuadanga Sadar Upazila Family Planning Office is operating in a rented house.
Locals complain that this situation has arisen due to the negligence of the Assistant Engineer of the Department of Health Engineering. There are allegations that he has been involved in irregularities at his workplace for a long time. The incomplete building has now become a place for loafers and drug addicts.
It is learnt, M/S Piyas Construction of Sirajganj took over the construction of this four-storey building at a cost of Tk 46 million. The work period was extended several times until June 2024, but the work was not completed on time. The contractor company raised all the allocated bills, but the construction work was left unfinished.
Deepak Kumar Saha,Deputy Director of the Family Planning Office, said, "As the project allocation has run out, the contractor has left without completing the work. We are at risk of running the office in a dilapidated building. When it rains, the papers get wet. There is also a risk of accidents. It would have been easier to provide services to the common people if the activities had been carried out in a new building."
Locals have demanded an investigation into the irregularities and legal action against those responsible persons. The infrastructure of the building is deteriorating due to the long-standing halt in construction work, which they consider a waste of government money and public services.
