Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

Tens of thousands left Dhaka to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha with their families, with those heading north complaining of a dearth of transport, overcharging by bus operators and long tailbacks.

Roadside cattle markets and unfinished road expansion work, alongside closing all the garment factories on the same day, are likely to cause suffering to Eid holidaymakers, particularly the north-bound people.

The government has proposed to cut down budgetary allocation for road, rail and bridge sectors by around 9 percent in the next fiscal year.

Two more development projects to be implemented following a public-private partnership module under Bangladesh-Japan joint initiative have been dropped.

A whopping Tk 1.22 lakh crore was poured into Bangladesh Railway for its development over the last 16 years, but the agency still faces a crippling crisis brought by ageing locomotives, carriages, and a shortage of staff due to what experts say are poorly planned and delayed projects.

Although the expansion work of Jhenaidah-Jashore Highway is yet to gain momentum, the project authority has sought a 70 percent hike in project costs.

Bangabandhu Bridge, the second largest bridge in the country, will later this year undergo the biggest maintenance work since its opening 26 years ago.

Mongla, the country’s second largest sea port, is going to be linked to the railway network on June 1 with the launch of a commuter train on Khulna-Benapole-Mongla route.

The metro rail authority will start the feasibility study for Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-4 next month, which is supposed to link Dhaka with Narayanganj’s Madanpur.

With the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar expected to revolutionise the country’s trade, the roads authority is planning to make its connectivity smoother with the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway and the Chattogram Sea Port.

The metro rail authorities are likely to miss the 2030 deadline for completing two of the six planned metro lines in Dhaka as they have not yet started carrying out feasibility studies for the two lines.

The government is thinking about reviving taxi service, which is almost non-existent in Dhaka and other major cities.

The metro rail authorities have planned to construct a stable yard near the Kamalapur station, but the Bangladesh Railway argues it conflicts with a plan previously agreed upon by the two parties.

The expansion work of the Dhaka-Sylhet highway has been severely hampered due to long delays in land acquisition and the moving of utility lines.

It also revealed a trend of gradual and steady rise in road crashes and deaths this year, indicating that roads are getting riskier.

A section of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) Act-2017 specifies formation of an advisory council under the leadership of the road transport and bridges minister.

The speed limit for cars, buses, and minibuses on expressways would be 80km per hour, while it would be 60kmph for motorcycles and 50kmph for trucks.

The Road Transport and Highways Division has called a meeting tomorrow with the divisional commissioners and deputy inspector general of ranges to find out why the number of road crashes cannot be controlled.

Giving into pressure from transport associations, the government once again waived the fines for failing to update driving licences and vehicle documents on time.

The Dhaka-Jashore rail line via the Padma Bridge is going to open in July, but Bangladesh Railway may not able be to reap the full benefit of the expensive project soon mainly due to shortages of manpower and carriages.