5 lives lost to gross neglect

"This is sheer negligence. There is a serious lacking of safety and traffic management in the project."
The joys of the families of a newlywed couple were wiped out in the blink of an eye as a segment of a box girder fell on a car in the capital's Uttara yesterday, killing five including two children.
It happened at Jasimuddin Road intersection on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway around 4:00pm when a crane toppled while moving the precast concrete segment. The weight apparently was too much for the crane.
The groom's father Rubel Miah, 60, the bride's mother Fahima Begum, 37, aunt Jharna Begum, 26, and two children of Jharna -- Janatul, 6, and Zakaria, 4 -- died at the scene as more than half the car got crushed, police said, adding that they were from Jamalpur's Islampur upazila.
The newlyweds, Rezaul Karim Hridoy and Riya Moni, were taken to a hospital. Police said their injuries were not critical.
The groom's father Rubel, a businessman, was driving the car, said Rakib Hossain, a family member.
"Rubel's son got married on Saturday and the family in Kawla area [in Dakhhin Khan] was celebrating."
The seven people in the car were going to the bride's home in Ashulia, said Mohammad Mohsin, officer-in-charge of Uttara West Police Station.
Dozens of precast girder segments like the one that caused the tragedy have been piled on the highway near Jasimuddin Road intersection.
The crane was lifting the segments from the pile and placing them on a tractor trailer on the busy highway.
Many have asked why traffic was not stopped during the activities and pointed out that this is the fourth serious accident at the BRT construction sites in one and a half years.
"Traffic should have been stopped at that time. But it was not done, a major failure."
Prof Hadiuzzaman, director of the Accident Research Institute at Buet, said that not even the bare minimum safety measures were taken, adding that the authorities should have cordoned off the area to keep traffic from being exposed to the danger.
There should have been safety and traffic management plans as the construction site is on one of the busiest highways of the country.
"This is sheer negligence. They seriously lack safety and traffic management. We have not been able to ensure accountability," he told The Daily Star last night.
It should be investigated whether the crane was suitable to lift such a heavy load and if the operator had the skills and the licence.
Right after the accident, locals rescued the couple, witnesses said.
But firefighters, reaching the scene, tried in vain to rescue the others inside. Grieving family members gathered at the scene and broke down in tears.
Firefighters first tried to cut open a part of the car, which was pinned to the ground by the weight of the girder segment. They failed. Then another failed attempt was made to haul the box-girder segment away with an excavator.
After that, the excavator was used to right the crane and the girder segment moved away from the car, allowing the firefighters recover the bodies.
Accidents like this in the project are not unheard of. On July 15 this year, a construction worker of the BRT died after a crane fell on him in Chandana Chourasta area on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Gazipur.
On March 14 last year, at least six workers, including three Chinese nationals, were injured as a part of a girder fell on them near Dhaka airport.
The Tk 4,268.38-crore project was taken up to build a 20.50km dedicated bus service road from Dhaka airport to Gazipur. The project was originally supposed to be complete at a cost of Tk 2,037.85 crore by December 2016. The latest deadline expired in June this year but the project made only 78 percent progress at the time. Officials have proposed setting the new deadline to December next year.
AKM Manir Hossain Pathan, chief engineer of Roads and Highways Department (RHD), which is one of the four implementing agencies of the project, said not halting traffic was a major fault.
There could have been an error in the crane operation, he said, adding that the operator fled the scene after the incident.
Asked whether the crane was capable of doing the work, he said the crane had been used for the task earlier.
Talking to this correspondent after last year's incident, a consultant engineer said the contractor -- China Gezhouba Group Co Ltd -- was not supposed to do loading, unloading and lifting of viaducts in daytime.
Asked about the matter, Shafiqul Islam, managing director of Dhaka Bus Rapid Company Ltd, which is another implementing agency of the project, said the contractor was working round the clock as the project was behind schedule.
About whether the probe committee formed after last year's incidents found a lack of safety measures at the site, he said the safety recommendations made by the committee were implemented.
About yesterday's accident, he said the investigation would reveal whether the crane was faulty or the operator made an error.
ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, secretary of road transport and highway division, said a five-member committee led by Additional Secretary Neelima Akhter was formed and asked to investigate the accident and come up with a preliminary report within today and a full report in two days.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed deep shock at the tragedy, reports UNB.
In November 2012, 12 people died and many were injured in a similar incident at the construction site of a flyover in Bahaddarhat, Chittogram.
In March 2017, a 36-metre-long girder, weighing about 70 tonnes fell from the capital's Moghbazar-Malibagh Flyover and killed a worker.
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