Negligence of DPHE officials and non-removal of the substandard structure blamed for tragic death

Staff Reporter:

Substandard structure of the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) claimed the lives of two kids at Shaluavita Baza’ar in Sirajganj Sadar upazila on Sunday afternoon.

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.

The tragic incident took place at around 3:30 pm, when four children of the neighboring 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 to protect the lives of people from the clutch of deadly Corona virus.

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. Condition of two others-Abir and Sanjida Khatun was 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.

On information, Professor Zahidul Islam, General Secretary of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Sirajganj District Unit and also Jama’at nominated candidate for Sirajganj-2 (Sadar-Kamarkhand) constituency visited the spot and condemned the incident.

During his visit, the Jama’at leader also said, “Two children have lost their lives due to low quality structure and construction work of the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) in Sirajganj. If the construction work had been done properly, those children would not have lost their lives. Due to negligence of the concerned construction firm and Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) in Sirajganj, such misery has come down in the families of the victims.”

Blaming the negligence of incumbent Executive Engineer (EE) of Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) in Sirajganj, the Jama’at leader further said, “If the substandard structure had been removed after the COVID-19 pandemic subsided, local residents would not have faced such a tragic incident.”

He urged the authorities concerned to conduct a fair investigation over the construction work and the concerned contractor as well as the then officials of DPHE in Sirajganj. He also demanded compensation for the death of two children and injuries of two others.

While contacted on Sunday evening, Md Rokonuzzaman, Executive Engineer (EE) of the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) in Sirajganj said, “I have heard about the incident. But, I am yet to visit the spot.”

Md Rokonuzzaman, Executive Engineer of DPHE in Sirajganj.

When he was asked ‘why the unused and substandard structures including basin and wall were not removed from the spot even after passing about four to five years since the Corona pandemic,’ he said, “Such basins were built on temporary basis for hand washing during the Corona pandemic. But, those were not removed due to lack of the department’s care and awareness.”

When he was asked about the concerned construction firm, the Engineer also avoided providing the name of concerned construction firm or the contractor instantly on the plea of his busyness.

It is to be mentioned that, Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) in Sirajganj has turned into a den of corruption and irregularities for long due to lack of proper supervision by the high-ups. Massive corruptions and anomalies were reported recently in some projects’ works in Sirajganj. Those included Islami Development Bank (IsDB) funded project like ‘Faecal Sludge and Solid Waste Management Plant’ construction at Bonbaria and ‘Integrated Sanitation and Hygiene Project in the municipal town. Several media outlets have also published several news-reports recently disclosing the corruptions and anomalies, but to no effect due to lack of goodwill by the authorities, insiders claimed.