A large number of vehicles ply underneath the unguarded girders of BRT project at Uttara in Dhaka on Tuesday risking accidents a day after the crushing of a car by a girder that falls off a crane leaving five people killed. — New Age photo

A preliminary report conducted by the road transport and bridges ministry on Tuesday found China Gezhouba Group Company Limited responsible for the fatal accident at the Bus Rapid Transit Line 3 project area in the capital’s Uttara.

The government officials concerned also cannot avoid their responsibilities for the accident, said road transport and highways division secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri at a press briefing at the secretariat.

He said that they would issue show-cause notices to the BRT line 3 project director, manager, and local supervisors for their failure, and action would be taken after a probe committee formed over the incident gave its final report.

While chairing a meeting of the executive committee of the National Economic Council virtually, prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday also asked authorities concerned to seek an explanation from the project director, consultants and contractors.

Planning minister MA Mannan told reporters after the meeting that the PM was surprised with the safety conditions during the construction work and wanted a proper investigation into the incident and blacklisting the errant companies.
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A member of the victims’ family filed a case with the Uttara West police station on Tuesday, accusing the crane operator, China Gezhouba Group, and people responsible for safety management without naming anyone.

The crane operator, a Bangladeshi national appointed by a sub-contract of China Gezhouba Group, went into hiding after the accident as the police were trying to arrest him.

At least five people were killed and two others, all from the same family, were injured when a girder from the BRT Line 3 project crashed on a car at the Jashim Uddin Avenue area in Uttara on the Dhaka-Mymensingh national highway,  one of the busiest roads in the country, on Monday.

Currently, Dhaka Bus Rapid Transit Company Limited, along with the Roads and Highways Department, Bangladesh Bridge Authority, and the Local Government Engineering Department, is implementing the 20.2-kilometre north section of the Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport Project on the Gazipur-Airport route at a cost of Tk 20,398.5 million.

The accident took place at the grade section of the project, which is being implemented by the RHD.

Following the accident, the road transport and bridges ministry formed a probe committee, which submitted a preliminary report to the RTHD secretary, ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, on Tuesday.

At the press briefing held by the ministry at its conference room in the secretariat, the secretary said that the preliminary report found four reasons behind the incident.

He said that as per the project’s supervision consultant and team leader Teague Macreem, on August 15 being a public holiday, there was no pre-scheduled work plan regarding the box girder segment.

‘Still the contractor had done the relocation of the girder segment,’ he said, adding that the negligence of the contractor company was ‘100 per cent responsible’ for the incident.

The contractor did not inform the traffic police department about its work, the crane lost its balance as the road was uneven, and lastly, as per the contractor company, the traffic movement in the area suddenly increased during the incident, the report said.

He claimed that the weight of the girder was 70 tonnes and the crane’s capacity was 80 tonnes.

Nuri said that the Chinese company did not inform the Australian consultant company about its plan to work on Monday and thus the consultant did not give it any work plan.

Representatives of a company responsible for safety management were also absent at the spot during the incident, said Nuri, without disclosing the name of the company.

‘If proved, we can fine the company or terminate its contract or finally blacklist it,’ he said, adding that in the event of previous accidents, they had terminated the people involved from their services.

Replying to a question if the government officials from RHD, Bangladesh Bridge Authority and Local Government Engineering Department could avoid their responsibilities, he said that no one could avoid responsibilities but added that it was not possible to finish an inquiry in a day.’

Md Afran Mondol Babu, brother of the deceased Fahima Akhter and Jharna Akhter, who filed the case over the incident, said they were not in a mental condition to find the accused individual and mention their name in the FIR.

‘As a family, we lost almost everything. Try to think from our perspective what we have left,’ said grieving Babu.

Injured newly-married couple Rezaul Karim Hridoy and Riya Moni were released from the hospital but still remained in deep mental shock, he said, adding that if there was a minimum cautionary signal this accident would not have taken place.

Uttara West police station acting officer-in-charge Md Mohsin said that they were trying to arrest the crane operator, Al Amin, who is from Lauhajang in Munshiganj.

He said that they also asked for documents from the Chinese contractor to find out the specific responsible people for the safety management at the accident spot.

During a visit to the project area, Dhaka North City Corporation mayor Md Atiqul Islam on Tuesday held the BRT 3 project authorities responsible for the fatal accident, adding that no project work would be allowed in the city if the safety of people could not be ensured.

In a statement, Jatiya Samajtranrik Dal – Jasod president Hasanul Haq Inu and general secretary Shirin Akhter on Tuesday expressed their condolences over the deaths in the Uttara girder accident and the old Dhaka’s Chawkbazar fire incident.

They said that authorities could not avoid their responsibility in this regard and demanded the arrest and exemplary punishment of the people responsible for the incidents.