No scope to take ferry hit on Padma Bridge lightly: Quader

Road Transport and Bridges Minister and Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Tuesday said there is no scope to take the incident of ferry’s hit on Padma Bridge lightly.

“Our team of engineers didn’t find any sign of hitting on Padma Bridge. But we have given directives to probe the incident entirely within the shortest possible time. The real matter will come out when we will get the report,” he said.

He was talking to journalists after visiting the scene where a ferry hit a span of the under-construction Padma Bridge this morning, reports BSS.

Asked why the dream project Padma Bridge is facing hits again and again, the minister said directives have been given to take stricter actions to check recurrence of such incidents in the coming days.

Whether there is any sabotage behind the incident or not will also be looked into, he said.

Quader said in 2001, the then government had appointed an ineligible person as the chairman of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) and there was huge criticism over the incident on media.

In that time, a group used to maintain a syndicate on ferry and ship business, he said, adding that those people remain involved in different activities now.

So, investigation will be carried out to find whether there is any conspiracy or not, he said.

Earlier, ferry Birshreshtha Jahangir’s mast hit the 1-B span between the second and third pillars of Padma Bridge while going from Shimulia ghat to Doulatdia-Paturia route around 7.30 am today.