Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

People’s wait for smoother and faster rail communication between Dhaka and Chattogram will be prolonged further as the deadline for expansion of the Akhaura-Lakhsam section on this crucial route is set to be extended for a second time.

The government has imposed several restrictions including an embargo on leaving work stations during the upcoming Eid holidays to check the mad rush of holidaymakers, but it lacks a clear outline on how to enforce these restrictions aimed at curbing spread of Covid-19.

Authorities of the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project (PBRLP) are likely to start installation of rail track on the Mawa-Bhanga section from July in a major development for the fast-track project being implemented by Bangladesh Railway.

Worried that the Covid situation in Bangladesh could worsen with the Indian variant entering and the upcoming Eid travel rush, the government is contemplating stricter measures.

As the government sticks to austerity in face of the pandemic, it has asked all ministries, except health and agriculture, not to issue work order for any physical works during the remainder of the current fiscal year.

Bangladesh Railway has started using the 10 locomotives that a South Korean company supplied breaching contract. The move comes even when a BR body is evaluating if those engines should be used.

In a rare move, the road transport and bridges ministry has changed the directors of 63 projects of the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), aiming to facilitate their quick implementation.

Around half of the ongoing projects of Bangladesh Railway will have to be revised after the end of the current fiscal year, thanks to poor implementation.

The government is going to extend the current restrictions on travelling and outdoor activities for another week and the authorities will be even stricter in enforcing the restrictions, sources in the cabinet division said.

Giving in to the pressure from transport associations, the government is going to bring about a drastic change in the Road Transport Act-2018, reducing fines stipulated under 11 sections and sentences under four sections.

Works of the fast-track projects will continue amid the strict lockdown to be imposed from Wednesday to contain the sharp rise of Covid-19 cases and deaths.

All public, private and autonomous offices will remain closed for a week from April 14, says a Cabinet Division proposal aimed at curbing the sharp rise in Covid-19 cases and deaths.

With no directive about the two days between the “lockdowns”, many said they were confused as to what would happen on April 12 and 13.

The ongoing restrictions to curb the Covid-19 surge across the country are showing signs of failure everywhere.

The government yesterday decided to resume public transport services in all 11 cities in the country from today, barely a couple of days after it imposed the weeklong restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Residents in the capital yesterday worked themselves into a frenzy to stock up on food supplies and household essentials ahead of the weeklong restrictions on transport and public movement from today.

Thousands of people in different parts of the capital suffered badly after being hit by a severe gas crisis as a Titas connection was damaged in Amin Bazar on the outskirts of the city on Monday night.

The alignment of the proposed high-speed train between Dhaka and Chittagong is likely to be changed.

A bottleneck on the rail route between Dhaka and the country’s north-western and southern regions is unlikely to go away anytime soon as one of the two projects aimed at improving the track capacity are stuck in limbo due to delayed loan negotiations and a cost-cutting directive.

Two Chinese companies have expressed interest in forming a joint venture to construct, operate and manage funds for a proposed high-speed railway on the Dhaka-Chattogram route.