Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

Bangladesh’s civil bureaucracy is growing fatter and fatter at the top as its lower tiers remain remarkably slim, creating an imbalance, affecting performance and fomenting frustration among non-admin cadre officials.

Bangladesh Railway (BR) is trudging along because of its excessive reliance on outdated locomotives caused by the failure to add new engines to its fleet in time.

The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) is finally getting an upgraded research and training facility, much-needed given the volume of projects the government agency implements and the upkeep needed of the existing sprawling network.

Bangladesh Railway (BR) is planning to form a separate body for carrying out feasibility studies and getting consultancy services for its potential and ongoing projects.

The railways ministry recently requested the Economic Relations Division to urge the Chinese government to re-evaluate its decision to not finance the Joydebpur-Ishwardi double-line project.

A technical committee has recommended taking delivery of the 10 locomotives that South Korean Hyundai Rotem Company supplied to Bangladesh Railway without meeting some of the specifications agreed in the contract, said BR officials.

The government has decided to lift most of the restrictions on people’s movement and public transport from Wednesday even as Covid-19 continues to exact a heavy toll on people’s lives with high death and infection rates.

The government has made a complete mess of the reopening of export-oriented factories amid “strict lockdown” enforced to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

A probe committee of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) has recommended shifting the current locations of the ferry terminals on the Shimulia-Banglabazar route to avoid further collision between the vessels and the Padma bridge.

The Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) is annoyed with a good few project authorities for breaking protocol for applying for extensions -- a practice that is hamstringing the appraisal process.

A probe committee formed after a ferry on Friday rammed a pillar of the under-construction Padma Bridge found that the master and quartermaster of the vessel were responsible for the mishap that left 20 people injured.

Around one and a half years ago, Dhaka North City Corporation procured three turntable ladders for dousing flames at high-rise buildings.

Transportation of goods from India to Bangladesh via freight trains doubled in the last fiscal year as the route is cost-effective and saves time.

If you have more than one car, SUV or minivan -- be it individually or jointly owned -- you have to pay 50 percent more income tax for each of such vehicles from the current fiscal year.

The Asian Development Bank has managed to award only 27 percent of its mid-year target for contracts and 47 percent of its half-year fund disbursement target as of June 30, in an indication of the magnitude of slowdown in project implementation caused by the pandemic.

Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has failed to start the physical work of a project taken up two years ago for installing 28 axle load control centres despite a call by one of its wings for implementing axle load control on highways ungently to reduce road damages.

At least seven bridges built recently by the Roads and Highways Department in several northern districts have faults, either in alignments or guide banks, which may have adverse impacts on the rivers there, says a government report.

Physical works of 18 major infrastructure projects under the road and rail sectors will continue amid the ongoing seven-day "strict lockdown" aiming to meet their fresh deadlines.

Leaky gas pipes were the fourth most common cause of fires reported last year, according to Fire Service and Civil Defence data.

Although road conditions under Roads and Highways Department network have improved a little compared to the last year, over 3,000km surveyed roads -- 16.26 percent -- are still in “poor, bad or very bad” condition, says an RHD survey.