Cracks are seen at different spots of the seven storied under construction Borguna Sadar Hospital. Locals allege that low quality building materials were used. However, the allegations of the usage of sub-standard products were refuted by the contractor.
The government took a decision to construct a new building in order to raise the number of beds from 50 to 250 and, in 2013, the works ministry gave an order to Khaleq Enterprise to construct the new structure at a cost of Tk 313.14 million.
Though the work order stipulated 30 months for the construction, the building has not been completed in six years. Already, cracks have been noticed on the walls, beams and rooms.
Convener of the Borguna Public Policy Forum, Md. Hasanur Rahman Jhontu said, “The construction company has been negligent in their work since the beginning; if the faulty building is handed over then the movement will become more vocal.”
The engineer of the contracting company, Md. Anwar Hossain, said, “We could not complete the work on time; the cracks are not on the main building and therefore, the main structure will not face any problem.”
The owner of the company, Abdul Hadi Rubel, observes, “These cracks are not major issues and will disappear with the final coating; the building is totally risk free.”
Talking about the extra time needed he said, “My father died while the work was underway; later, I took over the business which resulted in loss of time.”
Saying that the additional time needed was inadvertent, he added, “We will be able to hand over the building in a month.”
Executive engineer of Borguna works department, Md. Abu Zafar added, “Minor problems may appear in building large structures; but while taking over the building, we shall carry out a thorough assessment.”