JnU NEW CAMPUSIrregularities mark lake construction

Allegations of irregularities have been levelled over the quality of construction of a lake on the second campus of Jagannath University (JnU) in Teghoria union of Keraniganj, on the outskirts of the capital.

Based on some complaints, Jnu correspondent's investigation revealed that the excavated lake on the second campus on 200 hectares of land had cracks and collapsed in several places. Geotextile panels are spread across the lake.

On Friday, the lake was seen to be covered with tarps, but only a few places were covered. Large cracks appeared in places where the geotextile bag was not covered.

The lake bank can collapse at any time due to rainwater entering through all these cracks.

In addition, the soil along the lake shore has been excavated. As a result of cutting off the lake bed, the lake banks have already collapsed in many places.

The two-year project, at a cost of Tk24 crore, had a due date of June 2020. But the implementing agency could not complete the work within the stipulated time and sought extension of time again and again.

Wishing to be anonymous, a student of the university said, “The poor condition of the lake is due to poor quality of work and lack of proper supervision.”

Negligence causes the loss of millions of taka on the project. We hope that the administration will take the matter seriously, the student added.

Contacted by phone, contractor Omar Farooq Rumi declined to discuss the matter.

Chief engineer of the university, Helal Uddin Patwari, said, “The contractor will repair the lake as he has not yet handed over the project to the authorities. We have withheld Tk4 crore until they complete the work.”