BRT projects: Won't this tragedy wake them up?
Accidents are not unusual in any infrastructure construction. Accordingly, it is part of the policy and law to carry out the work with preparation and all safety measures. But everything remains on paper only- employing manpower and allocation of money is done accordingly- but eventually no rules are followed. We witnessed the tragic consequence last Monday with the death of five people, including two children, when a concrete girder crushed them during the work of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Uttara of the capital. Experts refused to call it accident, rather murder caused by negligence.
Even after this incident we see gross negligence and irresponsibility in the work of BRT. Work is going on in other parts of the project which are still completely unsafe. Prothom Alo reports that the railings of the BRT project are being installed in the Chandana intersection area of Gazipur. The busy intersection has thousands of vehicles and people moving every day. Yet BRT did not follow any safety measures. The picture is the same on the 16 km road from Abdullahpur to Gazipur's Shibbari intersection. There is no arrangement to avoid accidents and any worker or employee of BRT was not present nearby.
Acting mayor of Gazipur City Corporation Asadur Rahman told Prothom Alo that many meetings were held with the project officials before the BRT started working. At that time, they made various promises including security measures, prevention of dust and sand, construction of alternative roads; But the project officials did nothing.
After the accident, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) mayor Atiqul Islam ordered to stop work in the Uttara section on Thursday. He said, the work will start after ensuring safety on the road. But although the work was stopped in that part of Uttara, the girders were later seen to be piled in the middle of the road. Construction materials are scattered in different places. Iron rods were exposed from concrete slabs. No safety measure has been provided around the project.
The BRT project is being implemented with funding from Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Government of Bangladesh and two other organisations. It is the responsibility of the consultant and the project implementing agencies to ensure that the contractor's work has been done according to rules and maintaining standard.
It is the responsibility of the project implementing organisation to ensure proper safety and security while working, as well as those who are financing the project should also keep an eye on the matter. As the construction of this project has been going on for a long time, there is no doubt that safety oversight has been neglected on all sides.
They also have to take responsibility for Uttara's accident. The safety of the project cannot be ensured by simply blaming the crane operator, construction worker or contractor. They should be forced to follow all safety rules as per rules.
BRT has become one of the longest running projects in the country in terms of time and cost. The suffering of people for years due to this work is unthinkable. The project should be completed within the latest extended period. There must be no more negligence or irresponsibility in creating security and safety arrangements in the entire area under the project. Place utmost importance on this. We don't want to see another tragic incident like that in Uttara.