Editorial
Mass transit in the capital
A quick and transparent start needed
The sheer immobility and the pollution overhang in the capital has been allowed to reach such a debilitating state that most people have grown cynical about the livability status of the metropolis in the near future. Many people thought that any government could acquire a messianic image by simply solving the problems of traffic congestion and belching carbon monoxide fumes from stranded and slow-moving vehicles in Dhaka. But in our culture of distorted priorities, the obvious often gets ignored.
The answer to burgeoning Dhaka's transport problems is two-fold. First, we need to have a mass transit system including metro rail, circular train and human hauler as are in vogue in some South East Asian countries. Even though it's a longer term vision, yet the idea could be taken forward on the basis of some spade-work that had already been done and the best practice model available. The second option, the short-term one, which the government has pragmatically adopted given the limited time at its disposal relates to projects under Strategic Transport Plan. An elaborate system of link roads, bridge communications and underpasses will girdle the city.
The chief adviser has inaugurated work on four-lane Airport Road-Rokeya Sarani link road on the western side of Tejgaon Old Airport. This will be completed in October this year. The Hatirjheel project has already got underway as a potential environmental boon and traffic jam reducer. Construction of link road from Zia colony to Mirpur cantonment, link bridge between Banani and Gulshan lakes and construction of roads from Mirpur Grameen Bank to Agargaon are envisaged. All these will help smoothen the east-west and north-south transport movements.
The time-table sounds realistic: some of the projects will be completed within the current year, some by 2009 and others by 2010.
This interim non-party government has a few months left to its tenure and all that it can hope to do is to set the process rolling within a concrete frame-work. If a serious beginning is made by them, it will have a salutary impact on the progress of the Strategic Transport Plan to the overall freeing up of the traffic across the city.
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