Committee seeks two more weeks

The investigation committee has sought two more weeks' time to complete investigation after being unable to be sure about the cause of the accident in which a bearing pad fell on a pedestrian at a metro rail station in Farmgate on October 26.

Sources said committee convenor Bridge Secretary Mohammad Rouf Ahmed sought the time through a letter to Advisor on Rail and Road Transport Fouzul Kabir Khan on Thursday.

The committee showed the ground they had yet to receive some test reports and complete review of structural and detailed design of the Mass Rapid Transit line 6 (MRT6).

Earlier also the committee sought two weeks more after its first 15-day tenure had ended on November 10. The latest extension of two-week time started on Friday.

Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser on the sector Sheikh Moinuddin said the committee needed more time to get the report from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) where part of the fallen bearing pad was sent for test.

He said the committee wanted to work more on the design and other issues before finalising the cause of the accident. "If necessary, the committee may seek support of international experts to be sure about the cause of the accident as it is a safety concern," Dr Moinuddin told the FE over phone.

The committee convenor, however, said the report was expected to be finalised within the extended two weeks time but said for the sake of proper investigation, the committee had been trying to investigate all possible means through laboratory tests like bearing pad and vibration test and design analysis, inspections etc.

"It is also being looked into whether the bearing pad fall is an act of sabotage or not as one pad is still missing," Mr Rouf told the FE over phone.

The six-member committee has been working since the second-time fall of a bearing pad from a pier of the metro rail on a pedestrian while crossing under the elevated MRT line at Farmgate on October 26. One bearing pad fell on the pedestrian but another remained still missing.

In September 2024, the first bearing pad fell from the pier no. 430 without any casualty.

The Road Transport and Highways Division (RTHD) under the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges formed the investigation committee soon after the accident.

Other members include BUET Mechanical Engineering Department Professor ABM Towfique Hasan, MIST Civil Engineering Department Associate Professor M Zahidul Islam, and MRT-5 South Project Director M Abdul Wahab. Deputy Secretary Asfia Sultana serves as member secretary.

Chief Engineer of Local Government Engineering Department and Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor Sheikh Moinuddin was added to the committee later.

smunima@yahoo.com