Staff Reporter :
At least five people of a family, including two children, were killed after a girder from the crane, part of the under construction Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, fell on a car in Uttara on Monday afternoon.
According to eyewitnesses, a girder of the BRT under construction project fell from the crane on a roadside private car which resulted in lost of lives of four passengers in the car on the spot at 5pm near the Jasimuddin Road area.
The injured two to three persons were sent to a nearby hospital after their rescue for treatment.
The eyewitnesses alleged that the accident took place due to lack of proper security measures in the project areas.
Mohammad Saiful Malik, Assistant Commissioner of Traffic Police, Uttara Division, said that all of the victims were riding the private car.
The deceased were identified as Rubel, 50, Jharna, 28, Jannat, 6, and Jakaria, 6. But one of the deceased could not be identified till filing the report at 9pm last night.
Fire Service Control Room Officer Dewan Azad Hossain said, “Six people were crushed when a crane fell on a private car while lifting a girder.”
Earlier on July 15, a security guard was killed when a launching girder of the same project was crushed in Gazipur. A worker and a pedestrian were also injured in the accident.
After the accident in July, it was suggested from various circles for taking steps to strengthen security measures in the project area.
However, eyewitnesses have blamed that the fatal accident happened because of not taking effective measures even after the killing of one person in July.
According to the family members, the car were going to Ashulia from Airport’s Kawla area to attend a post-wedding family function.
The bride, Riya Moni, 21 and groom Hridoy, 26 could come out of the car immediately after the girder fell on it, Saiful Malik added. Dhaka BRT Managing Director Safiqul Islam claimed that there was no lack of safety.
“The accident occurred due to mechanical failure. A girder was being lifted on a truck for moving to another location. But due to a sudden mechanical failure, the crane veered towards the road and overturned, unable to carry the load. That is when the girder fell on the car,” he told reporters.
He also said the BRT is bound to pay compensation for the accident.
“However, the amount is not fixed. We will negotiate and fix the amount,” he added.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has expressed her condolences to the bereaved family members and prayed for the departed souls in the accident, said a press release issued by PMO.
The project to create separate lanes for specialised buses across an area of about 20km from Gazipur to the airport is being implemented by three government agencies – the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), the Bangladesh Bridge Authority and the Local Government Engineering Department. Three project directors are in charge of coordinating the work of the three agencies.
The project work that started towards the end of 2012 as part of the plan to finish the construction of the BRT by 2016 has not been completed by one third in 10 years. During this time, both the project completion tenure and cost have doubled.
Due to slow progress, the revised cost of the project has been estimated at Tk4,268.32 crore after a 109 percent or Tk2,228.48 crore hike from the initial estimation of Tk2039.8489 crore. Three donor agencies, including the ADB, are providing Tk2,842.51 crore in loans for the project.
