Bangladesh’s authorities introduced Friday that it had ordered a halt to the development of an elevated bus line till the Chinese language contractor may guarantee security on the venture affected by current lethal incidents, together with a piece collapse that killed 5 individuals this month.
On Aug. 15, a girder being put in for the speedy bus transit line venture fell and flattened a automotive that was driving beneath the elevated line alongside Jashim Uddin Avenue in Uttara, a suburb of Dhaka, killing 5 members of a household.
A newlywed couple additionally suffered severe accidents within the mishap that befell alongside the Dhaka-Mymensingh nationwide freeway, one of many nation’s busiest roads.
“The contractor had some lapses that led to the girder collapse. That is unacceptable. Until they guarantee full security and safety of the individuals, the development will stay suspended,” Shafiqul Islam, the managing director of the Dhaka Bus Fast Transit Co. Ltd, informed BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated information service.
Islam and different officers went to the accident web site on Friday to evaluate progress. The federal government has fashioned a three-member group to research the collapse.
Neelima Akhter, an extra secretary within the Highway Transport and Bridges Ministry who leads the group, stated she anticipated to finish the probe by subsequent week.
“The development is presently halted after the tragedy. Until the contractor ensures full security and safety of the individuals, we is not going to enable them to hold on the development work,” she informed BenarNews.
“If confirmed responsible in our probe, we’ll recommend actions towards the contractor and different involved individuals,” she stated with out elaborating.
China’s Gezhouba Group was awarded the contract in 2016 to assemble the 20.2-km (12.5-mile) speedy transit line, which can join the Gazipur space of Dhaka with Hazrat Shahjalal Worldwide Airport. The price of the venture is 42.6 billion taka (U.S. $450 million).
A relative of the victims filed a case with the police towards the Chinese language firm.
Authorities have arrested not less than 10 individuals concerned within the venture, Md. Mohsin, officer-in-charge of Uttara West Police Station, informed BenarNews on Friday.
Mohammed Belayet Hossain, a former secretary of the ministry’s street transport and highways division, blamed the collapse on the Chinese language contractor.
“The China Gezhouba Group Co. Restricted shouldn’t be firm. They don’t make investments sufficient cash to implement such a giant venture just like the BRT,” Belayet Hossain alleged, utilizing an acronym for the bus speedy transit system.
“As secretary, I personally visited websites and investigated the works of the China Gezhouba. Their security measures had been virtually absent,” he informed BenarNews. “The corporate doesn’t need to spend [money] on guaranteeing public security and safety across the venture premises.”
He stated the development web site was additionally not blocked off correctly.
“They labored protecting the vehicular visitors as typical – that is unacceptable,” he stated, including, “They may have positioned the girders at midnight when visitors slows down remarkably.”
Belayet Hossain additionally alleged that the Chinese language firm had acquired the contract due to its low bid, including it didn’t present correct security gear together with boots, helmets and vests, for its staff.
“In line with Bangladesh procurement guidelines, the corporate providing the bottom worth should be given the contract,” Belayet Hossain stated. “However I feel we’d like a change within the guidelines – we should always assess the capability of an organization earlier than awarding a mega venture.”
Previous mishaps
The Chinese language embassy in Dhaka didn’t instantly reply to a BenarNews electronic mail request for feedback on the stoppage and the allegations towards the Gezhouba Group.
The crane getting used didn’t have the capability to deal with the load of the girder and its operators, who had been amongst these arrested, weren’t licensed to function it, Khandaker Al Moin, a spokesman for the police’s Fast Motion Battalion, informed a information convention on Aug. 18.
Moin stated a Gezhouba Group official had ordered staff to work throughout a public vacation regardless of a manpower scarcity together with staff chargeable for security and visitors administration. A few of these working had been new and inexperienced.
This month’s lethal incident was not the primary on the venture web site.
In July, a crane collapsed on a Bangladeshi employee and killed him alongside a stretch of the bus transit line on the Gazipur finish. And in March 2021, six staff, together with three Chinese language residents, had been injured in an accident involving the setting of a girder broke alongside one other stretch of the route.
BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated information service.
