Damage to car Inquiry holds BRT contractor responsible

PESHAWAR: The inquiry report into falling off the steel sheets on a car during the work on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project held the contractor responsible for the untoward incident for failing to take safety measures.

The report submitted to the director-general of the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) said that the incident occurred due to the negligence of the contractor.

It said that despite written instructions and letters issued in April and May, this year the safety measures were not taken.

The contractor was directed to compensate the owner of the damaged car. On July 7, steel sheets fell on the parked car of one Imran Rashid at Shoba Bazaar. However, no casualty was reported in the incident.

The report issued by Resident Engineer Reach-II MMP PSBRT Peshawar said that negligence was observed on part of the contractor as he did not seek assistance from the traffic police, Project Manager Construction Supervision Consultant (PMCSE) and PDA.

It said the health and safety staff was not present on the spot and the standard operating procedure was not followed which caused the incident.

The report said it was the responsibility of the contractor to follow safety protocols.

It said that deployment of the vigilance team was necessary for the protection of the moving vehicles and people passing through the area.

The report added that the contractors working on the BRT project had been directed to seek approval from the competent authority before executing such activities and to ensure the training of the workers involved.

The contractors were instructed that the emergency response unit must be in place before starting the work and all the operators and cranes should be third-party verified or else penalty would be imposed on them as per the agreement.