Ensure quality of road work, bitumen used in construction: PM – National – observerbd.com
Ensure quality of road work, bitumen used in construction: PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday directed the ministries concerned to ensure the quality of road work, quality of bitumen used in road construction and maintenance so that water could not remain for long time on roads.
She gave the directives while presiding over the 15th ECNEC meeting of the current fiscal year (FY21) and the 48th ECNEC meeting of the current government.
The meeting was held virtually from her official Ganobhaban residence. Ministers, state ministers and secretaries concerned joined the meeting from the NEC Conference Room in the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.
The ECNEC meeting approved a Tk 5,905.59 crore project to conserve the rural road network system by rehabilitating the roads, bridges and culverts affected due to cyclone Amphan, excessive rain and the recent flood.
Briefing reporters after the meeting virtually, Senior Secretary of the Planning Division Md Asadul Islam said the ECNEC meeting approved a total of five projects involving an overall estimated cost of Tk 7,505.29 crore.
Revealing the details of the project, Planning Commission member Md Zakir Hossain Akand said the the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) under the Local Government Division will implement the project titled “Rehabilitation of rural road infrastructures affected due to cyclone Amphan and Flood” with an estimated cost of Tk 5,905.59 crore with entire government fund by December 2023.
He said, “The project will be implemented at 355 upazilas in 55 districts of the country.”
Zakir said the project has been formulated to rehabilitate the affected rural roads, culverts and bridges.
The project area covers cyclone Amphan affected 69 upazilas under 14 districts of Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram and Dhaka Divisions, flood affected 182 upazilas under 28 districts of Rangpur, Rajshahi, Khulna, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Sylhet and Chattogram divisions.
Besides, the project area also covers some 139 upazilas under 22 districts of Rajshahi, Khulna, Dhaka, Mymensingh and Chattogram divisions which were affected due to excessive rain.
The main project operations include rehabilitation of some 2,388.34 km upazila roads, rehabilitation of some 2,274.68 km union roads, rehabilitation of 78km RCC roads, reconstruction of some 268 bridges with a cumulative length of 4,631.85 meter, reconstruction of some 239 culverts with a cumulative length of 692.37 meter and tree plantation along 328km roads.
Besides, there will be construction of some 5,000km upazila Roads, some 8,000km union roads and 12,000km rural roads as well as construction of 1,40,000 meter bridges and culverts on upazila and union roads. Apart from this, there will be construction of 50,000 meter bridges and culverts on village roads.
The Prime Minister once again underscored the need for identifying the sandbanks (dubo chars) in the rivers and thus removing those through dredging as well as creating buffer zones for preserving water.
She also asked the concerned line ministries to keep an eye so that river silt does not block the usual flow of water.
The two other projects approved in the meeting are Waste System Development of Khulna City Corporation with Tk 393.40 crore and the first revision of Construction of Sheikh Hasina Sangskritik Palli with an additional cost of Tk 102.77 crore.
SZA