There have been allegations of widespread irregularities, poor quality work and financial fraud in the WASH activities of the IWR project implemented with the funding of the Japanese government in Fatekharkul, Joarianala, Gorjania and Kachchhpia unions of Ramu upazila of Cox’s Bazar.
Locals claim that some project officials and contractors have formed a syndicate and are systematically misusing the project funds.
The allegations say that the bills of the contractors have been paid while leaving the construction work of tubewells, submersible pumps and double chamber toilets incomplete.
In addition to providing cheap and low-quality materials to the beneficiaries, low-quality brick-wells have been used in the construction work.
In many places, the head or neck of the tubewell has been installed without following the design and standards.
Locals allege that there is also a huge discrepancy in the depth of the boring. Although in reality 350 to 530 feet of boring was done, the bill was shown as 700 to 800 feet.
Similarly, in the Selu tubewell, the bill was shown as about 190 to 200 feet deep despite 90 to 120 feet of boring.
Apart from this, in some areas, it has been alleged that new work has been completed by connecting pipes to the old private tubewells of the locals without doing new boring. This has rendered the old tubewells of many beneficiaries useless. There are also allegations of non-design work in the construction of double chamber toilets.
Although 4-inch roofs were supposed to be cast as per the design, only 2 to 3 inches have been cast in many places, which the locals say is risky.
The locals allege that no effective action has been taken despite informing the concerned authorities about these irregularities several times. On the contrary, they claim that the complainants have been treated disrespectfully.
The list of complaints includes the names of the project coordinator Mizanur Rahman, project engineer Ahsan Sabbir, monitoring officer Shahidul Islam, project officer Thomas Biswas, finance officer Russell Majhi and the related contractors.
However, no immediate statement was received from the accused regarding these allegations.
Fakrikata Village WAS Committee President Md. Mizanur Rahman said, “It is important to verify through an impartial investigation whether the government and donor funds have been misused or not. The administration needs to take quick action to protect the interests of the poor people.”
He said that a written complaint has been submitted to the Ramu Upazila Executive Officer seeking redress in this regard. The villagers demanded legal action against the culprits after the investigation.