• Apathy of DPHE officials blamed
  

  ---

  ---

Rehennuma Tarannum Rifat:

A-three-member probe body was formed over the death of two children at Shaluavita Baza’ar in Sirajganj Sadar upazila by collapsing a substandard structure constructed by the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE).

Deputy Commissioner (DC) and District Magistrate Aminul Islam formed the body on Monday, also the day after the incident.

The probe body led by Md Assadiqzaman, Additional District Magistrate has been asked to submit its report as early as possible.

Other members of the body include Md Nazran Rouf, Additional Superintendent of Police in Sirajganj Sadar Circle and Rezaur Rohman, Executive Engineer of LGED.

The investigation team visited the spot on Monday afternoon, sources said.

Earlier on Sunday afternoon, two children died after collapsing a substandard structure built at the mentioned place by the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) in Sirajganj during the period of Corona pandemic. Two more children were also injured in the incident.

The deceased were identified as Rayhan Sheikh, 6, son of Faridul Islam Sheikh of Char Shoilabari village in Sirajganj Sadar upazila and Sumi Khatun, 2, daughter of Sajib Sheikh of the same village.

Victims’ family sources said, the tragic incident took place at around 3:30 pm on Sunday last, when four children of Char Shoilabari village were playing near to a ‘hand washing basin’ constructed at the Shaluavita Baza’ar by the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) in Sirajganj during Covid-19 pandemic with the aim saving the lives of people from the onslaught of deadly Corona virus.

But, the abandoned wall of the basin collapsed on the children leaving two of them dead on the spot and injuring two others. Watching the heart touching incident, locals rushed to the spot and rescued them from the beneath of the damaged wall and basin. Later, they took the four children to the local hospital, where the on duty doctors confirmed the death of two persons Rayhan and Sumi. Condition of two others-Abir and Sanjida Khatun was also stated to be critical.

After the incident, tense spread out among the locals against the below standard construction work of the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) in Sirajganj. The deadly incident occurred due to lack of care by the DPHE officials, locals said.

Md Rokonuzzaman, Executive Engineer of DPHE in Sirajganj.

A reliable source said, preparation to lodge a case against the DPHE’s Executive Engineer Md. Rokonuzzaman is going on by the victims’ family members.