B Mirror Desk : There may be flaws in the design of the metro rail, said Faruk Ahmed, Managing Director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), adding that recent accidents could have occurred due to various factors, including the use of substandard materials.

He shared these remarks on Monday (November 3) during a press conference on the overall operations and progress of the metro rail project.

“Our first priority is to ensure safety,” said the DMTCL MD. “There may be mistakes in the metro rail design. Apart from that, accidents might occur due to poor-quality materials or incomplete handovers. However, this can only be confirmed after a proper investigation.”

He added, “If needed, design modifications will be made for new projects. We also urge political parties and others to stop pasting posters on the metro rail pillars.”

Faruk Ahmed noted, “Given our project costs, this should have been one of the best metro systems in the world — but the reality is disappointing. Those responsible for irregularities, whether in project delivery or execution, must be held accountable under the law. I hope this will happen once the government’s investigation is complete.”

He also said that the contractor has yet to hand over the full project to DMTCL. “Despite sending repeated notices for the past three months, we haven’t received full possession. Even after partial handover, the major faults in the contractor’s work remain unresolved — though they were supposed to fix them within two to two and a half years. There is certainly accountability here.”

The DMTCL chief admitted, “It’s true that there’s currently no project director for Line-1. We plan to appoint four to five project directors soon, as needed.”

Regarding the recent Farmgate accident, where a bearing pad fell from a metro rail pillar and killed Abul Kalam, Faruk Ahmed said, “His family has been given an initial compensation of Tk 5 lakh. This was not payment for the value of his life, but immediate assistance.”

He added, “I have met with his wife to discuss long-term support. Based on her qualifications, we are arranging a job for her once she submits her certificates and national ID. She is about six months away from completing her honors degree, and once she does, we have provisions to offer her a promotion based on her qualifications.”