Staff Correspondent

Bangladesh Railway (BR) on Tuesday  clarified that recent social media reports claiming unauthorized soil digging under the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project's viaduct in Narayanganj has put the infrastructure at risk are baseless. 

Following an official investigation into the matter, authorities confirmed that the built infrastructure is entirely safe and the ongoing soil extraction was part of a routine site restoration process by the project contractor.

According to BR officials, the land in question is legally acquired railway property. During the construction of the viaduct under the project, the contractor had built a temporary road by filling the area with soil. As per the contractual agreement to maintain environmental balance, the contractor is required to restore the site to its original state upon completion of project activities. Consequently, the contractor was removing the previously filled soil to fulfill this obligation.

The restoration activities were being strictly monitored and supervised by the Construction Supervision Consultant (CSC) of the Bangladesh Army. Furthermore, the Deputy Commissioner  of Narayanganj had already been formally informed about the ongoing work. BR categorically stated that the removal of this soil has caused absolutely no damage to the Padma Bridge Rail Link infrastructure, nor will it pose any threat in the future.

However, taking the overall situation and public concern into consideration, the railway authorities have issued an order to suspend further soil removal from the site. Instead, strict instructions have been given to preserve the designated land for an upcoming tree plantation program in accordance with the government's action plan.