Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

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.

Government to open seven projects in September-October; AL to showcase them in campaign for general elections; expert urges building capacity for operations

The road authorities have to spend more resources, including money and time, to keep the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway operational, thanks to its delayed maintenance works and rutting caused by continuous plying of overloaded vehicles.

While the Bangladesh Railway has taken and implemented dozens of projects to expand its rail lines and acquire new locomotives and carriages, its workshops remained neglected for years.

After observing the slow pace of a project under which rail tracks are being laid on a 19km stretch between Faridpur and Magura, a report prepared by a government body has accused the railway authorities of serious lacking in their monitoring.