Highlights
- The earthquake caused visible cracks in several Dhaka Metro Rail stations including Karwan Bazar, Bijoy Sarani, Pallabi, Mirpur 10, Mirpur 11, and Farmgate.
- Floor slabs, walls, tiles, and electrical sub-station rooms were affected.
- Some station staff initially denied the damage but later acknowledged it.
- Government advisor says the cracks are “not serious” and further inspections are underway. Despite damage concerns, metro operations resumed the same day.
The earthquake did not shake only Bangladesh — it shook the metro rail as well. Not only tremors, but cracks have also appeared in several metro stations. These facts were confirmed on-site on Friday (21 November) afternoon.
During spot visits, cracks were found on the floor of the electrical sub-station rooms of the Karwan Bazar and Bijoy Sarani stations. The entrance wall of the Bijoy Sarani sub-station also showed cracking. At the Pallabi station, cracks appeared on the floor of the electrical sub-station as well as inside the station control room.
Investigations further revealed cracks in the floor of the Mirpur 11 electrical sub-station, in some tiles inside Mirpur 10 station, and on the inner wall of the passenger lift core at Farmgate station.
Inside the control room at Pallabi station, cracks were visibly present on the wall. Three staff members were present in the evening. When asked, Station Controller Md. Sayem initially denied the existence of cracks. After the reporter pointed at them, saying “There, look — cracks,” Sayem responded:
‘আগেও ফেটে থাকতে পারে, আবার ভূমিকম্পেও ফাটতে পারে। আমি জানি না। এখন আমি প্রথম দেখলাম।’
Translation: “Maybe it was cracked earlier, or maybe it cracked because of the earthquake. I don’t know. I’m seeing it for the first time now.”
He advised contacting higher authorities regarding the issue. Another staff member at Pallabi confirmed that cracks appeared in one more location but refused to identify where. An employee at Mirpur 10, requesting anonymity, mentioned that several tiles had cracked. Staff members at Mirpur 11, Bijoy Sarani, and Farmgate also confirmed the existence of cracks. Following the earthquake, security at metro stations was heightened. However, by Friday afternoon, metro services resumed as normal.
Passenger Sabbir Rahman expressed concern after learning about the cracks:
‘এটা ঠিক না। বিভিন্ন স্টেশনে ফাটল ধরার পরও মেট্রোরেল চালানোর সিদ্ধান্ত ঠিক হয়নি। দুর্ঘটনা ঘটতে কতক্ষণ?’
Translation: “This is not right. Even after cracks appeared in various stations, they continued running the metro. An accident could happen anytime.”
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Another passenger, Sushmita, said:
‘শুনে খারাপ লাগছে। মেট্রোরেল খুব উপকারী। বিপুল অর্থ খরচ করে নির্মিত মেট্রোরেলের ক্ষতি হবে না; এমনটাই ভাবনা ছিল আমার। প্রাকৃতিক কারণে হলে তো আমাদের কিছু করার নেই।’
Translation: “It feels bad to hear this. The metro rail is very useful. I always believed such an expensive project would not suffer damage. If it’s caused by nature, then there’s nothing we can do.”
Inside the Karwan Bazar station, cracks were found on the floor of the electrical sub-station. When visited around 8 PM, the room was locked. A staff member confirmed the cracks and said many people were scared.
Attempts to contact Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) Managing Director Faruq Ahmed were unsuccessful as he did not receive the call. Another senior DMTCL official refused to comment and advised speaking to even higher authorities. Later, the Interim Government’s Road Transport and Bridges Ministry Adviser Muhammad Fauzul Kabir Khan was contacted. He told this reporter:
Fauzul Kabir Khan said that-
‘ফাটল আমরা দেখেছি। এগুলো সিরিয়াস না। আমরা আরও পরীক্ষা-নিরীক্ষা করছি।’
Translation: “We have seen the cracks. These are not serious. We are conducting further examinations.”
When asked whether running the metro in this condition was appropriate, he replied:
‘আমরা কতগুলো ট্রায়াল রান করেছি। যখন দেখেছি, কোনো অসুবিধা নেই; তখন মেট্রো রান করেছি।’
Translation: “We conducted several trial runs. When we saw there were no issues, only then did we allow the metro to operate.”
Source: NTV
