Despite a national concern the Padma Bridge was hit by ferries repeatedly. A ferry named Kakoli hit the 10th pillar of the bridge on Friday morning.
It is not acceptable that a 15-metre ferry cannot pass through a 150 meters space. Despite a great concern of around 170 million people who are proud of the Padma Bridge, ferries hit the pillars of the bridge six times in just one and half months’ time.
Question has risen among the people why the men in administration could not take any security and protective measures even after the bridge pillar was hit first time.
Why the authorities concerned failed to be conscious in maintaining the bridge properly, the nation questioned.
The distance between two pillars of the under-construction Padma Bridge is 150 meters. On the other hand, the width of ferry is only 15 meters. Even after that, ferries hit the bridge six times within 1.5 month. But the big ships are smoothly plying under the bridge.
The bridge authorities said that there is no fear of causing damage to the Padma Bridge due to the hit of the ferry as it has the capacity to withstand the impact of a 4,000-ton ship. They say 10,000 tons of 'friction pendulum bearings' have been used in the bridge. As a result, the bridge will be able to withstand 9 magnitude earthquakes or equivalent tremors on the Richter scale.
However, the question has arisen - why the ferry is repeatedly hitting the nationally important installation like the Padma Bridge.
According to the concerned, most of the ferries are decades old and engines are weak.That’s why, it cannot run properly in the rainy season due to the strong water flow of the river Padma. The construction of the bridge pier has narrowed the flow of water in the river and increased the speed. Due to the flow of water and rotation around the pillars, the ferries with weak engines are not able to keep pace with the wind and currents, which is hitting the pillar. Besides, masters also lack of skills.
Shafiqul Islam, project director of the Padma Bridge, said the ferry's own weight and the weight of the vehicle, including passengers, ranged between 600 to 1,000 tonnes. There is no risk of causing damage to the bridge due to the hits. The bridge is being designed to withstand the impact of 4,000 tons of ships.
Officials said that large ships, tankers with 1200 to 1300 tons of fuel are plying under the bridge, but don’t collide with the pillars. On the other hand, distance between two pillars of the Jamuna Bridge is 100 meters while the distance between the two pillars of the second bridge built on the Gumti river at Daudkandi in Comilla on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway is 87.5 meters. The width of the pillars of Kanchpur Bridge is only 56 meters. But under this bridge innumerable launches, stone and cement-laden ships ply in the southern part of the country.
According to the Padma Bridge Project and BIWTC sources, the currents of the river is two to three meters per second in the monsoon. That means the speed of the currents is more than seven kilometers per hour. The maximum speed of BIWTC ferries is 10.2 km. The total speed including current and the speed of the vessel is 17 kilometers per hour. But the ferry's 440 to 560 horsepower engines are not suitable for controlling such a high speed vessel.
Sometimes, the speed of the currents is stronger than the speed of the ferry. As a result, the ferry loses control and crashes into the pillars due to strong current and wind. Another reason is that ferries carry heavier load than it can handle. As a result, the control system is worse due to the momentum.
On July 20, the floor of the row-row ferry Shah Makhdum get leaked after it hit the 16th pillar of the Padma Bridge. Earlier, on July 2 and 16, the ferry hit the same pillar. On July 23 another ferry named Shahjalal hit the 17th pillar of the bridge. It caused extensive damage to the ferry, breaking the 'hull-plate'. Last Monday, a ferry named Bir Shrestha Jahangir hit the 10th pillar of the bridge. Five people were injured.
After the incident, Dewan Abdul Quader, executive engineer of the Padma Bridge, filed a general diary (GD) with the Louhajong police station and said that a small portion of the pile cap of Pier 10 had fallen due to the impact of the ferry. Apart from this, there was no damage to the bridge. Just four days later, on Friday morning, another ferry named Kakoli hit the 10th pillar of the bridge again.
On Friday, State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, after inspecting Shimulia Ghat said, “The ferry was repeatedly hitting the Padma Bridge. We are embarrassed. Injury to any part of the Padma Bridge actually hurts the hearts of the people of Bangladesh. It will not be accepted in any way. Action has been taken in this regard. We had some instructions.”
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said that there may be a deep-rooted conspiracy against this national asset. He asked the Army to look in to the matter very seriously. Hatching conspiracy against this bridge is still going on, he added.
The project director of the Padma Bridge said there are 41 pillars in the river. Due to that, the water flow in the river has decreased a bit. The speed increases when water flows from a narrow place. That's why the speed of the currents under the bridge is a bit high due to the obstruction in the cap of the pier.
Why the BIWTC ferries are colliding even though other big ships are running smoothly? In reply, State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said the naval channel under the Padma bridge has a bend in it which causes rotation in the water. As a result, the ferry cannot be kept under control. For this, the drivers have to drive the ferry carefully.
The ferry master Abdur Rahman Khan and Sukani Saiful Islam were blamed for the July 23 accident and an investigation report was submitted to the BIWTC chairman. According to the investigation report, the ferry Shahjalal hit the pillar of the Padma Bridge due to 'negligence' of Master and Sukani.
According to the report, the Shahjalal ferry lost control due to the strong current and hit the pillar. The committee recommended that in the monsoon season, strong-engine vessel should be used instead of low-speed vessel against strong currents.
However, master Badal Hossain had earlier informed the higher authorities that the ferry that hit the pillar on Friday was unsuitable for navigation on that route. But the ferry was not removed from the Shimulia-Banglabazar route.