The causalities of passengers in a car crashed under a girder of a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project in no way can be said an accident. Five people including two children lost their lives due to indiscipline, negligence and carelessness. The incident sparked criticism across the country. Work on the project has been suspended.
According to a Prothom Alo report, the BRT project started on a 20-kilomitre road from Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Gazipur a decade ago for the movement of bus on a special lane. Slow work progress and mismanagement has raised questions on the project repeatedly. Work on the project progressed 78 per cent as of June this year although the project deadline was December 2016. The project cost also doubled as deadline got extended.
According to laws, it is the responsibility of the project authorities to keep movement of vehicles normal on the existing road during the construction. For this reason, potholes were repaired regularly. It is also a part of the project work to ensure safety of the moving vehicles and people. For this reason, construction area needs to keep surrounded. Footage of CCTV camera shows when the incident took place vehicles were moving on the highway and at the time, a girder weighing about 70 tonnes were being lifted. The crane toppled and lost balance, and it then fell on the car. No safety measures were taken at the time.
Accidents happen in BRT project repeatedly due to similar negligence and irresponsibility. Four big accidents took place since the construction began. Girder collapsed twice on 14 March 2021 in airport and Abdullahpur, injuring three Chinese citizens and six construction workers. According to a Daily Star report, the investigation committee formed over those accidents found faults in safety management of the construction project and no recommendation of the committee was implemented either.
The BRT project is underway in four portions. Three Chinese contractor companies are constructing the flyover and road, but question arises often whether these firms have the capacity to do this work. The untold sufferings of people travelling on this road have turned into punishment because of digging for construction.
Experts said work on any mega project can start only after primary and final studies, but work on BRT project began after primary study prior to carrying out the final study and formulating design. So, the project that has faults in its foundation has resulted in immense sufferings of people and accidents frequently. International agencies such as Asian Development Bank and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) along with the government of Bangladesh are financing the project and it is also their responsibility to monitor weather such projects is being implemented properly.
Whatever thing was taken into consideration for the implementation of BRT project. This one is without a guardian. The contractor firm has taken advantage of this opportunity and is working at its will. They are not paying heed to safety of the people and their properties. Primary investigation found contractor company Gezhouba Group to be responsible for the incident, but, in fact, five people met this tragic deaths due to gross negligence of road transport and bridges ministry, BRT authorities and contractor firm. This is in no way an accident rather it is an example of structural murder. Take punitive action against those who will be held responsible by conducting a neutral investigation committee.