Allegations of huge irregularities in drain construction work in Kon, anger among local people

Con/Sonbhadra-

A case of huge irregularities has come to light in the drain construction work being done from Piyush Gupta’s house on Kon Bazar police station road under Kon development block to Kon-Kachnarwa-Windhamganj road. There is huge anger among the local people over the allegations of using substandard material in the construction work and ignoring the prescribed standards. The villagers have raised questions on the quality of the construction work and demanded an investigation from the concerned department and action against the culprits.

Local people allege that technical standards are not being followed in the construction work being done by the District Panchayat Department. According to the villagers, after digging the drain, soling was put and a mesh of rebar was laid over it, whereas as per the rules, PCC (Plain Cement Concrete) work should have been done first. It is alleged that the construction of RCC (Reinforced Cement Concrete) was started directly without doing the PCC work, due to which questions have been raised on the strength of the drain and its long-term quality.

Villagers say that during the construction work, the contractor and the people associated with the work were informed about this several times, but despite this no improvement was made in the construction work. People allege that despite protests, the contractor is intent on getting the work done against the standards. The residents of the area have expressed apprehension that if the construction work is carried out in this manner, the drain may get damaged during the rainy season and people may have to face the problem of waterlogging.

There is increasing resentment among the local people regarding the drain construction work. People say that there should be no compromise on quality in the construction work done with government money. The villagers have demanded that senior officials of the department should reach the spot and investigate the construction work and if irregularities are found, strict action should be taken against the concerned contractor.

In this regard, J.E. Anand Shukla told on cell phone that there will be no compromise on the quality of construction work. He said that instructions have been given to the concerned contractor to get the work done in a quality manner. If during the investigation it is confirmed that the work was done without quality or against the standards, then strict action will be taken against the concerned as per rules. He also said that the department is completely serious about the quality of construction works and negligence will not be tolerated at any level.

It is noteworthy that the District Magistrate, who recently took charge in the district, has given clear instructions to the officers of all the departments that there should be no compromise on the quality in the development works and all the construction works should be completed as per the prescribed standards before the rainy season. Despite this, if complaints of irregularities in construction works are coming to light, then it also raises questions on the departmental monitoring system.

Many prominent people of the area have also expressed their displeasure regarding the quality of drain construction. BJP Mandal Kon leader Brij Kumar Jaiswal, Shyamraj Gupta Advocate, Piyush Gupta and Mukesh Patwa and other local people have demanded an impartial inquiry into the construction work and action against the culprits. Now it remains to be seen how seriously the department takes this matter and what steps it takes to ensure that the construction work is as per the prescribed standards. The eyes of the people of the area are fixed on the departmental action.