Residents of Koyra, a coastal upazila of Khulna on the edge of the Sundarbans, have accused a Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) mega-project of using sub-standard materials in its embankment works. They say the concrete blocks meant to protect the embankment are being cast with saline sand dug from beside the erosion-hit Kapotaksha river embankment, instead of the silica sand the design specifies.

The complaint came to light through a video shared on social media showing block-making for the Satkhira BWDB's Polder 14/1 project at Charamukho in South Bedkashi union, where a local madrasa employee, Md Shamim Hossain, led residents in protest. Desh Rupantor's reporter found large heaps of saline sand stockpiled at the site.

The price gap is at the heart of the allegation: silica sand costs about Tk 130 a foot in Koyra, while saline river sand costs only Tk 2 to 3. Md Mobarek Hossain, the union parishad's dafadar, said the blocks break when struck with a hammer. Several block-making workers also claimed the site engineer made them use the sand.

Local representatives also complained of subsidence in parts of the embankment, a section at Hajatkhali that has sunk lower, and road slopes left unfinished at Binapani. Bithika Rani, a reserved-seat member of the union parishad, said the contractor and the Satkhira BWDB were told but ignored it. Residents also fear that digging sand from the Kapotaksha near the embankment will increase river erosion.

Monirul Islam, site engineer of MRZ, the contractor making the blocks, admitted that saline sand had been used, saying workers used it by mistake while he was away from the site. Residents say the firm had earlier received a show-cause letter over sub-standard materials, but no action followed.

Md Mominur Haque, sub-assistant engineer of Satkhira Water Development Board-2, which is implementing the project, said he inspected the site after the complaint and saw white saline sand, but claimed it was stockpiled for other work, not the blocks. He said the firm had been sent a letter over the earlier irregularity.

For this coastal community a durable embankment protects homes, farmland and livelihoods, and saline water breaching it ruins cropland. Residents are demanding an independent test and investigation of the sand and blocks used and of whether the work matches the design and work order.

The report was filed by Tarik Litu, Desh Rupantor's correspondent in Koyra, Khulna.

Source: Desh Rupantor