BRT project work will resume after safety measures taken, official says

The Bus Rapid Transit project will resume only after adequate safety measures are taken, the road transport and highways secretary has said after a suspension of the work following a deadly girder crash in Dhaka’s Uttara, reports UNB. 

Secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, who is also chairman of Dhaka Bus Rapid Transit Company Limited, said on Tuesday: “We’ll ask them [the contractor implementing the project] to ensure safety compliance. Our consultant will scrutinise the measures. The work will resume once they get the permission following the scrutiny.”

Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam earlier said the work was suspended as proper safety measures had not been taken, leading the girder to fall on a passing car. Five people were killed in the accident.

This was not the first accident in the project, Atiqul noted. "People are suffering more and more. We cannot allow development work to continue in this way. We must first ensure the safety of our city’s residents.”

Amin Nuri also said an initial probe has found proof of negligence by the China Gezhouba Group Corporation, the contractor in charge of the crane that dropped the concrete girder.