Bangladesh
Padma Bridge Ferry hit pillar of the Padma bridge for not following route: Cabinet Secretary
Dhaka, August 19: The ferry collided with the pillar of the Padma Bridge due to not following the scheduled route. Cabinet Secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam made the remarks at a briefing on the secretariat meeting in the conference room of the cabinet division on Wednesday (August 18) afternoon.
The secretary said that a sudden current is created in the Padma, which no one can control during the current. Many times the masters do not follow the route. Three incidents occurred due to non-follow route. All three ferries crossed without going upstream.
He said, "BIWTA's Sarengrs are the most expert Sarengs in Bangladesh. There are two things, confidence and negligence. In this case, these accidents are happening due to negligence. There is a gap of 150 meters between the pillars, the ferry is 15 meters, 10 times the ferry. If the pile cap is 25 feet and 20 meters are left out, it remains 130 meters. The ferry is 15 meters. There is no reason to push even if six to seven ferries passes. For this we all sat down and fixed the route. Even then, accidents are accidents."
“Even then we saw negligence in the three, which led to action being taken against them,” he said. "There is no chance of colliding with the pillar, the cap will be pushed. The bridge has been built keeping in mind that 61 meters of soil can be removed at some point. Nothing will happen due to these pushes."
The secretary further said that due to strong currents, the ferry crossing is closed for two or three days from time to time. Not for any other reason. If it rains too much upstream, the ferry is closed, there is nothing to do. Small vehicles are being ferried now. Out of 18 ferries, seven have been allowed.
