Dhaka metro rail authorities seek police action against kites, sky lanterns

The Dhaka metro rail authorities have written to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police to ensure that kites, sky lanterns and gas balloons are not flown or set off within a 1-kilometre radius of the rail network.

Recent incidents of these objects falling onto the metro's electric wires have caused service disruptions, prompting concerns from the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd (DMTCL), which oversees the metro rail operations.

In a letter dated February 11, Mohammad Abdur Rauf, the DMTCL company secretary, highlighted the risk of fatal accidents if these objects or their remnants became entangled in the high-power electric lines of the metro rail.

The letter also mentions that on February 7, two kites and kite strings became stuck in the electrical wires in the section from Pallabi to Shewrapara, disrupting the train schedule.

Urging the Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner, Rauf emphasized the importance of public safety and requested legal measures to prevent the flying or launching of kites, lanterns, gas balloons or similar objects within the vicinity of the metro rail route.