The risk emerged as part of Shyamoli Road No 2, where one of the landing of the bridge is located, has been dug up for the construction of a multi-storeyed building. The authorities have made Road No 2 off-limits to commuters temporarily.

"However, mere land digging would not have caused such a risk. Rain damaged the ground at the site that raised the fear of possible damage of the bridge," a high official of Dhaka Transport Coordination Board (DTCB) said.

Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) built the foot over-bridge in 2001 for risk-free crossing of the road which always sees a heavy flow of traffic.

Commuters are worried over the condition of the over-bridge. "Now I feel really insecure while walking along the road under the bridge," said Abdur Rahim, a local resident.

"The bridge looks alright…How would we know it is risky to commute under it," said Farhana Sayeed of Kalyanpur when asked if she feels insecure. "I have no option but to go to Dhanmondi everyday through this road."

The bus ticket sellers sitting on the pavement near the bridge, however, said they are unaware of the bridge's vulnerable condition.

A high official at the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Traffic North) said they have already requested Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) not to run their double-decker buses on the road. "The bridge is now in vulnerable condition and it may not be able to withstand the vibration caused by heavy vehicles," he said.

However, Jasimuddin Shikder, an official of the construction company that is building the multi-storeyed Shyamoli Complex said the construction work did not damage the road. "Rain and hailstorm have caused damage to the ground. The sewerage line on Shyamoli Road No 2 also had a leakage after heavy rain on Tuesday."

"After the rain, four pillars at the construction site collapsed. Then a certain portion of the road was washed away and we thought it may damage the foot over-bridge," he said.

The official claimed they have already done steel piling at the construction site to repair the damage. "Now we don't foresee any trouble. We can assure that there will be no risk unless there is further heavy rain," he said.

A team of DCC and DTCB officials visited the site on Thursday. Sources said the team decided to undertake protection work for the bridge. They do not think that the bridge needs to be removed right now.