The current political stalemate is seriously affecting the project implementation in different ministries as the officials in the ministries and district headquarters cannot have coordination meeting with the field level project officers because of the series of blockade programmes. Officials concerned said the development activities are being seriously hampered due to the current impasse as they cannot hold any meeting with the field-level project directors (PDs) and other officials.
Planning ministry secretary Bhuiyan Shafiqul Islam said the departments are facing an uphill task in sending materials to different project sites because of the present political stalemate.
The PDs would not be able to complete their project works taken under the annual development project (ADP) on time if the current political stalemate continues, he added.
Replying to a query on the implementation of the ADP, Shafiqul Islam said implementation of the projects has been hampered.
Local government and engineering department (LGED) chief engineer Wahidur Rahman told The Independent on Tuesday that the department is facing serious problems in transporting construction materials, such as rods, cement and other necessary items, to the project sites.
“Over 1,000 schemes under around 90 projects are in progress across the country under the LGED. Despite the blockade programmes, we are continuing with our schemes, but work is being done at a snail’s pace,” he said.
A visit to different government offices shows that most of the officers and employees are lazing away their working hours, chatting about newspaper and TV reports. Secretaries of some ministries told The Independent that they cannot hold any meeting with the field-level project directors (PDs) and other officials because of the continuous Opposition-sponsored blockade programmes and hartals.
The inert administration at the centre has its reflection in the districts as well: the implementation of construction projects has been seriously hit due to the disruption of means of transportation and interruption in the supplies of building materials. Usually the project works are implemented at a faster pace between November and May. Secretaries of several ministries expressed deep concern that the projects are not being implemented on schedule. Senior secretary of the water resources ministry, Shaikh Altaf Ali, told The Independent on Sunday that his department is facing a tough time in carrying out its field-level work because of the volatile situation in the country. “The dry season (November-May) is the ideal time to complete the works taken up by the different departments, including the Water Development Board (WDB). We have already lost two months because of agitations by different political parties,” he said.
Around 60 projects are being implemented under the water resources ministry, Ali said, adding, “We are facing serious problems in sending the manpower and materials required to different project sites due to the turmoil. I cannot put the employees’ lives in danger.”
Several departments under the water resources ministry usually work in different river erosion-hit areas, river treatment projects and irrigation-related areas during the dry season, he said, adding that these works cannot be carried out during the rainy season.
Altaf Ali said one of his officers sustained head injuries while travelling by train from Chittagong to attend a meeting in the Secretariat during the opposition’s blockade programme. He added that he has not been able to hold any meeting with the field-level PDs and officers after the incident occurred.
A senior WDB official, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Independent that the project works have become stagnant since the Awami League-led Grand Alliance government was reconstituted. “We are idling out time away and chatting. We are monitoring the present political situation through media reports,” he added.
A Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) echoed him, saying that the BIWTA is passing through a very tough time and virtually no work is being done due to the current chaos.
Courtesy of The Independent
