Saiful Islam, JKKNIU Correspondent:
The central playing field at Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University has turned into an unusable tract of sand and dust. A Tk 3.70 crore renovation project remains unfinished, even after running for double its scheduled time.
Due to long delays, administrative indifference, and contractor negligence, the renovation work has practically stopped.
This field was the university’s only place for sports, physical exercise, and the annual sports competition. But for the last five months, students have been kept from playing because of the sand, pits, and half-finished work across the ground. Many have expressed their anger on social media, writing, “This is no longer a playing field, it’s a ‘sand-eating field’ or the ‘campus pyramid.’”
According to university sources, Tk 3.70 crore was allocated for the field’s renovation, building a walkway, and beautification. Since there was no specific sub-category for the field renovation, the necessary funds were supposed to be spent from the total budget. The work started on May 9, 2025 with a three-month plan, but five months have passed, and even the initial work of leveling the ground is not finished.
Sanowar Rabbi Promis, a student of the Law and Justice Department and a regular player for the university team, said, “The field issue has now become a kind of torment for us. Despite repeatedly requesting the administration, engineering department, and the contractor, there is no real progress. The work starts when we protest, then it slows down again. In the last five months, they haven’t even finished pouring the sand.”
University’s acting Additional Director of Physical Education, Md. Nazmul Hasan, blamed the contractor. He said, “The previous contractor’s payment was held back because of the slow pace of work. A new contractor was given the responsibility about two months ago. They have said they will finish the work quickly.”
However, statements from those involved in the project show there is confusion and a lack of clarity about the timeline. Project Director Syed Mofasirul Islam said, “There is a plan to create a new layer by mixing white and red sand. But the red sand is taking time to bring from Panchagarh. It will take two weeks to mix the sand and then another two months to wet it with water.”
On the other hand, Deputy Chief Engineer of the engineering department, Md. Mahbubul Islam, said, “The sand mixing work alone will take one month.”
Officials from the engineering department admitted to a lack of planning and wrong decisions at the beginning of the work. Deputy Chief Engineer Mahbubul Islam said, “The work that was done at the beginning was done without expert opinion. It was later seen that the materials used were low-quality, causing various problems, including grass not growing. Currently, the work is being done according to a new plan based on advice from BKSP experts.”
Executive Engineer Md. Rahat Hasan Didar also said, “BKSP’s advice was not taken at the beginning. If it had been, perhaps both time and money could have been saved. In the beginning, the drain contractor was given the field work on an emergency basis.”
Attempts were made to contact Murad Mahbub, the owner of Mahbubu Enterprise, the contracting firm currently in charge of the renovation, but he could not be reached. He did not answer multiple calls to his phone.
Players from university said that due to the stalled work, inter-departmental tournaments, the annual sports event, and regular practice sessions have all stopped. They demanded that the university administration complete the work quickly.
