Dhaka city with over 15 million people is just gasping for life amid intolerable traffic jams. With it, environmental pollution and unplanned urbanisation have led to rating of the Bangladesh capital as one of the worst cities in the world.
According to a recent study, over 2,00,000 buses, jeep, wagon vans, micro buses, taxi, buses, minibuses, trucks, three-wheelers, motor cycles and others now operate in only 250 km-long arteries of Dhaka's 2,200 km roads. Each year about 50,000 new vehicles on an average are added to the roads. Moreover, around 6,00,000 rickshaws are operating in the capital. There are 30 rail crossings in the capital through which trains pass 84 times a day, contributing to the traffic jams.
A senior urban planner Professor Nazrul Islam says: "Historically, Dhaka has been developed in an unplanned way and the trend is still continuing."
There have only four major arterial roads connecting the northern and southern parts of Dhaka, while there is no connecting road from the eastern and western parts. People have constructed houses and converted residential areas to be used for multiple purposes including mixing up residential and commercial uses. Then the government agencies constructed connecting roads. Actually the system should be just reversed. As a result most of the people have to go through the centre of the city from one place to another. Just imagine an estimated 15 million people move in only 142 square kilometre areas of two units of Dhaka City Corporation.
Thanks to the present government's initiatives, the Mayor Hanif flyover has removed a traffic nightmare at Jatrabari and Syedabad. Two other flyovers have eased traffic movement from the city to the Hazrat Shahjalal international airport and onwards. Although belated, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's prompt initiative to introduce metro rail, known as rapid mass transit (MRT) in the capital has highly been appreciated by the exasperated citizens.
Now it is to be seen how speedily the concerned agencies act to execute the metro rail project, the only way to stop heavy rush of buses and other vehicles on roads that must not be allowed to expand any more in the limited land area of the city.
Happily, the fiscal 2014-15 budget is likely to see an allocation of Tk 4.0 billion for the metro rail project. The Dhaka Mass Rapid Transport Project got Tk 1.75 billion in the current fiscal year. The amount was spent on consultancy job and land acquisition. A significant portion of the next year's budgetary resource allocation would be spent on acquisition of land for depot at Uttara.
The government has undertaken the DMRT project to build the 20.5 -- kilometre metro railway between Uttara and Motijheel by 2024.
Implementation of the fastest mode of transport is likely to start in 2016 after completion of the ground work. The work includes a detailed design, land acquisition and resettlement. A consortium of Japanese and Indian firms has already been appointed to carry out the detailed design of the MRT.
But experts say, the project could be implemented in four years' time. And commuting by metro between Uttara and Jatrabari will take about 45 minutes and cost Tk 50, according to studies conducted as part of the government plans for improved public transport in the capital.
The planned electric railway will carry some 60,000 people an hour at peak times. Commuters will have to pay Tk 2.50 for each kilometer, said Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, consultant for the government's metro rail project,
Metro rail project can be implemented within the next four years, and once in place, it will ease traffic jam in the city, states Jamilur Reza adding that one train every three minutes can be run under the system.
According to Finance Minister AMA Muhith, the project would be implemented through public-private partnership and would require an estimated $1.7 billion.
In a study commissioned by the government and conducted by Japan International Cooperation Agency, the route starts from Uttara phase-III, and has stations at Pallabi, Chandrima Udyan, Bijoy Sarani, Shahbagh, TSC, Bangla Academy, Curzon Hall, Topkhana and Bangladesh Bank.
The government has conducted another study with plans to stretch the route up to Jatrabari.
Initially, the railway will be set up for this route only. The government, however, has plans to introduce five more routes in the future.
According to a projection, at least 20 million people will live in the capital in the near future. That is why the government should draw up plans to put in place a public transport that can better cater to the growing metropolis.
The metro rail will come to the people's doorsteps, said Takao Toda, chief representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica). He said the service would drastically reduce the private cars on roads and thus decrease traffic congestion and environment pollution.
The Japanese expert said it would save Bangladesh an annual economic loss of Tk 200 billion, equivalent to the country's 1.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and 17 per cent of the total tax revenue.
According to the plan, 80 per cent of the city dwellers would get a metro station within one km or a shorter distance, all the city entry points will be connected to this network, and all the busiest areas will be covered. Once the metro is introduced, traffic congestion would be drastically reduced and traffic load would be diverted to the underground. People will be able to travel from anywhere to anywhere else in the DMP area by subway, without using any other transport.
Environmental impact is a matter of great concern because the present transport system causes heavy pollution (emissions from the mechanised vehicles have made the environment toxic, hot and humid). In contrast to this, an underground metro is totally free from emission. Hence, the environment will become human-friendly day-by-day.
Sustainability and future expansion are two important points. Considering earthquakes, cyclones, etc., an underground metro will be the most feasible solution for mitigating traffic congestion, because subway tunnels can withstand vibration in the magnitude of Richter scale 9.2 due to sand cushioning.
It is time for the government to treat the metro rail project on an emergency basis in the way the Padma Bridge has been taken up for construction. There are vested groups out to foil the project as road transport owners are not expected to allow the ministry of communication to go for it as a fast-track project as they will considerably lose business.
The Metro Rail, if implemented on an emergency basis, will be a great political investment for the government. Former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu had thrown to the winds the stiff resistance to his metro rail project that has now gone a long way to end the plight of commuters in Kolkata.
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