Dhaka, Sept. 9 -- seven defective bearing pads on the Dhaka Metro Rail route have been identified as critical, while cracks of varying degrees have been detected in 46 piers, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam told Parliament on Wednesday.

He disclosed the information while replying to a question from Cumilla-9 MP Abul Kalam during the question-answer session in Parliament.

According to the minister, a safety audit found that all 730 bearing pads along the metro rail route were not in critical condition.

Of the total, defects in 147 bearing pads were classified as minor, while defects in 297 pads were primarily related to installation workmanship. The remaining 27 defective bearing pads were categorised as critical....