More than two-thirds of the construction work of Barisal University have remained incomplete when the deadline to complete the work expired last month.
Classes of BU were inaugurated by the education minister on January 24, 2012 on Zilla School campus of the city. Slow pace of the construction and legal problems in land acquisition have been forcing the students and authourities of BU to attend classes and perform administrative works at a single building of this temporary campus.
Foundation stone of the permanent campus of the university was laid by the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on February 22, 2011 at Karnakathi on the eastern bank of the River Kirtankhola under sadar upazila.
But till now all of the seven buildings of the BU campus on 50 acres of land have not only remained incomplete, but also the construction of over-the-ground level of three buildings has not yet started at all.
All of the work orders were given on January 11, 2012 and the work was scheduled to be completed within 18 months on July 11, 2013.
BU office, education engineering department, contractors and local sources said tenders of a project involving Tk 57.76 core were called at the end of 2011 to construct four academic and administrative and three student dormitories, each having five storeys, with a sustainable plan to bear the expandable capacity of the university in the next 10 years.
At present 1,103 students in 15 subjects under 5 faculties are studying at BU and 40 teachers, 24 officials, 78 staff and employees have been appointed there. In current academic session 1050 more students would be admitted, BU sources said.
Messrs Mahfuz Khan, Mudasser Ali Mallik, Gulzar Enterprise and Aman Traders received work orders on January 11, 2012 for constructing five-storey four buildings of academic and administrative sites of the campus at a cost of about Tk 25.5 core.
About forty per cent construction of one, 65 per cent of other two and fifty per cent of another one of this group has been completed.
The contractors have already collected Tk 11 crore (43 per cent of total estimated cost) as running bill.
Shafikul Alam Gulzar of Messrs Gulzar Enterprise said they have to construct concrete slabs under the foundations of the building and that requires huge earth work slowing down the speed of work.
On other hand works to construct two male and one female five-storey residential student halls at total cost of Tk 32.26 crore were given to first three of the aforesaid four contractors.
However till this report, only 15 per cent works including piling work of the three construction sites were completed, but 14 per cent running bills worth Tk 4.5 core had already been collected by the contractors.
Shafikul Alam Gulzar of Messrs Gulzar Enterprise about these works claimed that construction work was taking time because of legal problems in land acquisition and delay in handing over the land after four months of work order.
The problem still persisted, slowing down the construction, he added.
Abul Bashar, executive engineer of education engineering department, acknowledging slow pace in the construction works, said legal problems in land acquisitions caused the delay.
Professor Harunor Rashid Khan, vice-chancellor of BU, said they wanted to move to the permanent campus within December 13 this year.
A letter was already sent to the contractors to speed up and complete the works by December, said Bahauddin Golap, assistant registrar of the university.
-With New Age input
