Tk 8.5 crore water treatment plant in Jamalpur lies idle for five and a half years as machinery rusts

A modern water treatment plant and overhead tank were built at a cost of about Tk 8.5 crore to end the pure water crisis of Jamalpur municipality residents. But as soon as an attempt was made to start it, pipelines burst at various points under water pressure. Five and a half years have passed since then, yet the plant has still not been put into operation.

Left unused for a long time, rust is now setting in on the valuable machinery. Meanwhile, residents who had hoped for pure water are still deprived of the project’s benefits, and despite living in the municipal area they have to rely on alternative arrangements for water.

According to the sources concerned, about Tk 5.5 crore was spent on building the water treatment plant itself. In addition, Tk 3.04 crore was spent on an overhead tank with a capacity of 680 cubic metres.

The Gopalganj-based contracting firm Messrs Sharif and Sons completed the construction work in December 2021. The Department of Public Health Engineering later handed the installation over to Jamalpur municipality.

In January 2022, an initiative was taken to start the plant and supply water. But the pipelines, unable to withstand the water pressure, burst at various places, and the supply operation ground to a halt. Since the pipeline problem was never resolved, the project could not be started again, leaving the expensively built infrastructure effectively idle.

Allegations have been raised that substandard pipelines and construction defects are the reason the project could not be launched. Local residents allege that low-quality materials and irregularities in the construction work have made it impossible to start the project, depriving them of the benefit of the public money spent.

Under the project rules, after construction the plant was supposed to be run on a trial basis for at least six months under the supervision of the Department of Public Health Engineering. Any defect found during that period was to be fixed through the contracting firm, and if the contractor failed to correct it, the security deposit money was to be used for the necessary repairs. However, it is alleged that the security money was returned to the contractor without the pipeline problem being solved.

A visit to the site shows the plant’s main building and overhead tank lying unused for a long time. Most of the machinery inside has been covered with polythene, and rust has appeared on various parts from long disuse. Although crores of taka were spent building the installation, not a single drop of water has been supplied to residents from it.

Mehedi, a resident of the municipality’s Bogabaid area, said: “Even though I live in the municipality, I get no water facility. After the contractor finished the treatment plant work and left, it has not been used for a single day. It lies exactly the way they left it.”

Jahangir Selim, general secretary of the Jamalpur district corruption prevention committee, said irregularities and corruption took place during the construction work, which was carried out at the time by people of an Awami League contracting firm. He said residents are now deprived of safe drinking water and demanded that the plant be repaired quickly and water supply started.

Attempts were made to contact the contracting firm by mobile phone for its comment on these allegations, but the phone was found switched off. It has been learnt that after the change of government, the firm’s owner and those connected with it have gone into hiding.

Jamalpur municipality executive officer Hafizur Rahman said the pipelines were substandard and could not withstand the water pressure, which is why supply from the plant cannot be started. The matter has been reported to the Department of Public Health Engineering, and he said water supply will not be possible without laying new pipelines.

Mohammad Jamal Hossain, executive engineer (additional charge) of the Jamalpur Department of Public Health Engineering, said the project was handed over to the municipality in 2022 and that they took it over after inspection. Pipelines burst at various places when water supply was attempted, he said, adding that an estimate for fresh repairs has been prepared and sent, and necessary steps will be taken once funds are allocated. For now, residents’ eyes are fixed on that allocation and the repairs.