Girder collapse: Chinese contractor sued over negligence

A case has been filed against the Chinese contractor for the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) -3 Elevated Expressway after a 150-tonne girder fell on a car, killing five and injuring two, at Uttara's Jasimuddin road on Monday.

Afran Mondal Babu, the brother of deceased Fahima Akhtar and Jharna Akhtar, filed the case against China Gezhouba (Group) Corporation (CGGC) with Uttara West police station on Monday midnight.

Several unnamed people have been accused in the case, confirmed Uttara West police station OC Mohammad Mohsin.

"The crane operator has also been accused in the case. We have already started our investigation. Efforts are underway to catch the culprits," he added.

On Monday, five people including two children were crushed to death two others were injured after a girder fell on a car in Uttara.

Two passengers – a newly married couple Hridoy, 26 and Riya Moni, 21 – were rescued, but the rest of the passengers – Jharna, 28, her two children Zakaria, 2, and Jannat, 6, and Hridoy's father Rubel, 50, and his mother-in-law Fahima, 45, died on the spot.

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% or Tk2,228.48 crore hike from the initial estimation of Tk2,039.8489 crore. Three donor agencies, including the ADB, are providing Tk2,842.51 crore in loans for the project.