The High Court on Wednesday directed Road Transport and Highways Division鈥檚 secretary to form an independent high-powered expert committee for a comprehensive safety audit and structural integrity investigation of the entire Dhaka Metro Rail Project, including all lines and pillars.
The committee will include university professors, structural engineers, and non-governmental experts, and must submit its report within 30 days.
The court further asked the authorities concerned to explain within four weeks why they should not be directed to pay Tk 2 crore immediately, before assessing appropriate compensation, to the family of Abul Kalam Azad, 25, a commuter, who died after being hit by a falling bearing pad from the metro rail on October 26.
The court also sought an explanation as to why the authorities failed to ensure the structural and operational safety of the metro rail project, which led to the fatal incident.
The Road Transport and Highways Division鈥檚 secretary, local government, rural development and cooperatives secretary, Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited鈥檚 managing director, Bangladesh Bridge Division鈥檚 chairman, metro rail project鈥檚 chairman, Local Government Engineering Department鈥檚 chief engineer, the chief executive officers of the Dhaka South and North City and Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner were asked to respond to the ruling in four weeks.
The High Court bench of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Md Ashif Hasan issued the rule after hearing three public interest litigation petitions that were merged into one.
Two lawyers, Abdullah Al Mamun and Tonu Howlader, and another individual filed three similar writ petitions over the issue.
Lawyer Md Tanvir Ahmed, who appeared for Tonu, argued that the death of Abul Kalam exposed gross negligence and failure of the authorities concerned, particularly the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited and its contractors.
He submitted that Kalam鈥檚 death was not only a personal tragedy but also a matter of grave public concern, as it reflected the alarming lack of safety monitoring in ongoing mega projects across the country.
Citing a newspaper report, Tanvir said that, on September 18, 2024, a bearing pad had fallen from pier no. 430 of the metro rail, disrupting services on the Agargaon鈥揗otijheel section for about 11 hours, though no casualties occurred.
Just over a month later, on October 26, another bearing pad fell from pier no. 433 near Farmgate station, only two piers away from the place of the previous incident.
He said that such repeated accidents exposed serious mismanagement in the metro rail project.
Additional attorney general Arshadur Rouf told the court that the government had already formed an investigation committee and that a safety audit of the metro rail was underway following Kalam鈥檚 death.
Abul Kalam, a resident of Ishwarkathi village in Naria upazila of Shariatpur, was killed at Farmgate when a bearing pad fell from a metro rail pillar. He left behind his wife and two minor children.
Following the incident, rail and road transport and bridges adviser Faozul Kabir announced Tk 5 lakh in compensation for Kalam鈥檚 family.
