Villagers complain of ‘substandard’ materials used

BALURGHAT: A group of villagers on Tuesday stopped road work by complaining about the low quality materials being used for the construction of the road. The incident took place in Teor area of Hili Block in South Dinajpur district.

It is known that the work of 8 km road from Prachimore to Bangalipur in Teor area of Hili block has been going on.

The villagers complained that a part of the road work that was completed a few days ago has already started tearing up. Seeing this, the villagers stopped the construction of the road. They protested the incident by seizing the goods in the lorry on the same day.

Ujjwal Sarkar, a local villager, said: “The road work was done with substandard materials. In a few days, the road surface is tearing up.”

Another local, Partha Sarkar, said: “We have not yet received the schedule of the work from the concerned contractor. We have sought an explanation from him. There is no question that low quality materials were used to construct the road. If we don’t get any satisfactory answer from the contractor, we will inform the higher authority.”

Ziaul Haque, on behalf of the contractor, said: “Our materials loaded in a lorry were seized by the villagers. After inspecting the area, I have informed everything to the contractor.”

The incident spread a sensation in the area.