Metro Maintains Structural Stability After Quake: DMTCL Clarifies
The design of Dhaka’s metro rail is capable of withstanding earthquakes measuring 7 to 8 on the Richter scale, and no physical displacement of the structure occurred during the recent quake, according to Mohammad Faruq Ahmed, Managing Director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), the agency responsible for constructing and operating the system.
Speaking at a press conference held on Monday, 1 December, at the DMTCL conference room in Uttara, Faruq Ahmed also revealed that seven crude explosives (cocktails) were recently found on different segments of the metro line.
“We must improve the human side of things,” he said. “If we fail to enhance human awareness, no matter how much security enforcement I put in place, it will never be effective.
“Last week, a drone fell on the track. Over the past few days, a total of seven cocktails have been recovered. For public awareness, we request you—please write something positive.
“This asset does not belong to DMTCL alone; it belongs to all of us. We must protect it together.”
On Sunday night, the metro service was halted after a teenager climbed onto the roof of a metro train near the Dhaka Secretariat area. The youth has since been handed over to law enforcement.
“This is a matter of public security,” the MD said. “The police are investigating.”
Faruq Ahmed emphasized that passenger safety is always the top priority. “Whenever an incident occurs, we disconnect public services first. After the earthquake, we physically inspected all metro structures for 4–5 hours. I was present during the inspection. Normally, we conduct a test run before resuming service; that day, we ran two trains from opposite ends. We also physically inspected the bearing pads in the Farmgate and Bijoy Sarani areas. The inspection caused a 27-minute delay.”
Responding to a question, he noted widespread misinformation on social media following the quake. “We saw claims that the metro rail had collapsed. It takes time to determine whether such images are AI-generated. After our full inspection, we confirmed there was no physical displacement. A wall had a small crack, two tiles fell, and two ceiling pads came loose. Even walls in my own home developed cracks—why they cracked is not something I can always explain.”
At the press conference, retired Brigadier General Abdul Wahab, Project Director of MRT Line-6, stated that the teenager involved in Sunday’s incident has been sent to a correctional facility.
“He usually does not live in a regular household; perhaps he stays on pavements or elsewhere,” Wahab explained.
“Maybe he thought—‘We can climb onto the roofs of other trains, so why not this one?’ But climbing onto this train’s roof is extremely dangerous.
“There is a 1500-volt line above. He could have died at any moment. Please inform everyone—climbing onto the roof is impossible. One must remain inside the train; going outside puts lives at risk.”
DBTech / DP / EK / OR
