Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

Transport associations, mostly led by ruling party leaders, continue to work as the main obstacle in bringing discipline in the road transport sector, leaving thousands of people to die in road crashes every year.

The country’s road transport sector will get a big boost this week as 150 bridges and 14 overpasses under the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) network are set to open this Thursday.

For the first time, 162 road accident victims or their families will receive compensation from the government

The wait for a dedicated bus corridor between Dhaka and Gazipur is getting longer as the authority would not be able to start a special bus service there this year, even 13 years after the project was taken.

As residents of Dhaka city remain exposed to high levels of air pollution, some government actions are worsening the problem and putting people’s lives at risk.

Bangladesh Railway in October 2007 took up a project to construct a new station building in Khulna and enhance the operational capacity of the Benapole Station.

When the World Bank released an analysis of Dhaka city's traffic conditions in 2017, the total number of registered vehicles was 11.82 lakh.

The online ticketing system of Bangladesh Railway covers only 85 of its 483 stations, forcing travellers to buy tickets from the counters at the stations or from scalpers at significantly higher prices.

Bangladesh Railway (BR) is in a legal predicament as it struggles to recover around 4,000 acres of land grabbed by private citizens and public entities alike.

Authorities have finalised a compensation package for families of road accident victims, five years after parliament enacted a law in this regard.

The Roads and Highways Department in October 2018 took up a project to acquire land and move utility lines for turning the Faridpur-Barishal-Patuakhali-Kuakata highway into a dual carriageway, but hardly any progress has been made in five years.

Installation of rail lines from Dhaka to Bhanga will be completed next week and the authorities have sought time from the prime minister to inaugurate the section towards the end of September, officials said.

The metro rail up to Motijheel could be operational any day after October 15.

Transportation of goods from India to Bangladesh via freight trains declined by a large extent last fiscal year, mainly due to a dollar crisis and non-availability of necessary locomotives and staff. 

The Prime Minister’s Office has directed all ministries and divisions to take necessary steps to run campaigns on the development projects and programmes taken between 2009 and 2023.

Though the country’s road infrastructure saw much progress over the last decade, some of the major elements that could ensure road safety remain largely ignored, leaving roads still as anarchic and unsafe as ever before, experts and campaigners said.

Although rail services between Dhaka and Narayanganj will resume on August 1 after eight months of suspension for construction works, it would take three more years to have smooth and enhanced rail service on this route.

Four districts and a seaport will join the country’s rail network by October when 255km of rail lines are inaugurated.

Indiscipline continues to reign supreme on the roads, taking a heavy toll on lives and properties, as the government’s steps to address the malaise remain perfunctory, experts said.

The country’s longest runway, at the Cox’s Bazar Airport, is expected to be ready for use by December this year.