Severe allegations of irregularities and corruption have surfaced in a mega road development project worth 40 crore taka, undertaken to free Jhenaidah city from traffic congestion and enhance its aesthetic beauty. Under this 4.5-kilometer-long project overseen by the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), instead of using high-quality stone chips as required for the sub-base layer, the contracting firm has been directly laying whole bricks and soil without sand to carry out the work.
On Sunday afternoon (October 4, 2026), visiting the site revealed such irregularities. Sensing the presence of journalists, the contractor's personnel were seen hastily removing the whole bricks from the road using an excavator (veku).
Investigations reveal that 40 crore taka has been allocated in two packages for widening the 4.5-kilometer road from Jhenaidah Central Bus Terminal through Arapur to Hamdah. As per the contract, part of upgrading the 18-foot road to 30 feet includes constructing a "rigid pavement" for 16 crore taka and a "flexible pavement" for 24 crore taka. The main work was awarded to two contracting firms named "Hasan Techno" and "Masud High-Tech." However, on-site inspection showed that instead of executing the work themselves, the main contractors sublet the entire project to a sub-contractor named Babu Patwary.
Local residents present at the scene, including Abdul Hannan, Oliar Rahman, and Sabuj Hossain, expressed intense anger, saying, "Extreme deception is being resorted to in this mega project's work right from day one. No sand was used for the sub-base construction; it is being rolled using soil and substandard whole bricks. Despite a multi-crore taka government budget, working this way is simply throwing public tax money into the water."
Allegations indicate that although RHD Sub-Assistant Engineer (SO) Hasan Al Mamun was supposed to be present full-time at the construction site as the supervising officer, he was nowhere to be seen.
Upon receiving the news, Jhenaidah RHD Sub-Divisional Engineer Zia Uddin and Executive Engineer Tuhin Al Mamun visited the accident and work site in the afternoon. Expressing extreme dissatisfaction upon seeing the substandard work and the removal of bricks using an excavator, Sub-Divisional Engineer Zia Uddin stated, "The way this work is being done is completely unacceptable. Laying whole bricks instead of specified-grade stone chips to prepare the road is deeply regrettable."
Expressing grave anger upon observing the nature of the work on-site, Jhenaidah Roads Division Executive Engineer Tuhin Al Mamun stated, "There is no government provision to construct a road using whole bricks and soil like this. We immediately visited the site and suspended the work. No bills will be released until the sub-base is prepared afresh with correct-grade stone chips and sand in accordance with the schedule."
Meanwhile, no representatives from the main contracting firms, Masud High-Tech or Hasan Techno, were found at the scene regarding the irregularities. However, Masud, the site manager, and Liton, the supervisor working under sub-contractor SR Enterprise owner Babu Patwary, stated, "We are doing this to expand the site. This is not in the schedule. From a liability standpoint, we are doing this temporarily. This is not permanent work; once the main work is finished, this will be removed and redone."
— Daily Best News Desk • Fearless in the search for truth
Reported by Jhenaidah Correspondent • Edited by the Daily Best News desk. Send corrections to [email protected].
