Unqualified disappointment

It is a multi-purpose project that was welcomed by all and sundry for some obvious reasons. First, it could take the great pressure off the city roads where millions of commuters are dependent on just one mode of transport. The commercial potential of the waterway could be utilised by commissioning river vessels and tying them up into a viable, thriving network.

However, travelling by launch along the outer rim of the city is a new concept for Dhaka dwellers which is why it needed to be popularised through an imaginative and sustained publicity campaign. But the planners clearly failed to do the needful there. Moreover, the idea of extending the waterway to some other points, keeping Sadarghat terminal as the central one -- has not worked well either. Launch owners have complained of incurring losses in the absence of passengers at Gabtali terminal.

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It can be turned into a busy route where people would enjoy short river cruises at affordable prices. But the unusual delay in starting it might have already dampened some of the enthusiasm with which people had looked forward to a new development in terms of the city's communication networking. Let the golden goose start laying eggs.