ACC to sue 4 WDB officials on charges of negligence in flood prevention

The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) has decided to sue four officials, top brass of the Water Development Board (WDB) and a water ministry joint secretary, for their alleged negligence in flood management. The decision was taken after they were questioned by the anti graft body and the four confessed to their negligence in preventing shoddy construction of flood protection embankments, said ACC officials.
The officials are WDB director general Jahangir Kabir, additional DG Abdul Hye Baki, superintendent engineer Harunur Rashid and water resources ministry joint secretary Khalilur Rahman.
They were grilled for their apparent failure to prevent massive irregularities that led to the installation of poorly built flood protection barriers that collapsed in the face of flash floods in the haor region last month. It led to destruction of standing crops on thousands of hectares in nine districts.
ACC director general (DG) Munir Chowdhury disclosed it in a briefing yesterday after questioning the officials at the ACC office in Segunabagicha for nearly three hours since 12.30pm. He said the four had confessed to their negligence in preventing the shoddy construction of the flood barriers and the related malpractices. 

The ACC’s decision to grill the officials followed allegations of massive corruption and irregularities in haor areas of Sylhet, Sunamganj, Kishoreganj, Habiganj and Maulvibazar. Locals also alleged that engineers and officials of the WDB colluded with contractors to poorly construct flood barriers in the haor belt in the country’s north-east region.
The protective installations collapsed following heavy late-March and early-April rains, resulting in onrush of waters down the hills. 
The affected farmers said paddy and fish worth crores have been destroyed, although huge sums were spent to build anti-flood barriers. They also alleged that the officials also failed to properly maintain the embankments and repair them in time. 
The ACC initiated investigations on the basis of these complaints received from the field. As the ACC investigators began probing the allegations, the WDB authorities suspended three engineers in the region on May 2. 
But they all denied any wrong-doing during the construction and maintenance of the flood barriers.

ACC to sue 4 WDB officials on charges of negligence in flood prevention

The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) has decided to sue four officials, top brass of the Water Development Board (WDB) and a water ministry joint secretary, for their alleged negligence in flood management. The decision was taken after they were questioned by the anti graft body and the four confessed to their negligence in preventing shoddy construction of flood protection embankments, said ACC officials. The officials are WDB director general Jahangir Kabir, additional DG Abdul Hye Baki, superintendent engineer Harunur Rashid and water resources ministry joint secretary Khalilur Rahman. They were grilled for their apparent failure to prevent massive irregularities that led to the installation of poorly built flood protection barriers that collapsed in the face of flash floods in the haor region last month. It led to destruction of standing crops on thousands of hectares in nine districts. ACC director general (DG) Munir Chowdhury disclosed it in a briefing yesterday after questioning the officials at the ACC office in Segunabagicha for nearly three hours since 12.30pm. He said the four had confessed to their negligence in preventing the shoddy construction of the flood barriers and the related malpractices. The ACCs decision to grill the officials followed allegations of massivecorruption and irregularities inhaor areas of Sylhet, Sunamganj, Kishoreganj, Habiganj and Maulvibazar. Locals also alleged that engineers and officials of the WDB colluded with contractors to poorly construct flood barriers in the haor belt in the countrys north-east region. The protective installations collapsed following heavy late-March and early-April rains, resulting in onrush of waters down the hills. The affected farmers said paddy and fish worth crores have been destroyed, although huge sums were spent to build anti-flood barriers. They also alleged that the officials also failed to properly maintain the embankments and repair them in time. The ACC initiated investigations on the basis of these complaints received from the field. As the ACC investigators began probing the allegations, the WDB authorities suspended three engineers in the region on May 2. But they all denied any wrong-doing during the construction and maintenance of the flood barriers.