Passenger rush for metro rail in Dhaka's lone corridor from Motijheel to Uttara has increased as students' blockade brought traffic to a standstill on Monday.
For lack of traffic mobility, thousands living around the 20.1-kilomete corridor or not chose the MRT (mass rapid transit) to reach home with less hassle.
Almost 16 metro stations faced the sheer pressure of passengers back to back on Sunday and Monday.
According to the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), the number of passengers has increased to 300,000 to 325,000 since the launch of the MRT line-06.
When asked, DMTCL managing director MAN Siddique said they recorded an estimated 350,000 on Sunday as Monday's data was yet to circulate.
The operations team and MRT security staff members have been working relentlessly to manage the pressure.
In this temporary situation, the DMTCL would not consider taking any extra measures but it has alerted the DMP for taking steps, Mr Siddique told the FE.
Monira Begum, who took the MRT on Monday, said passenger queue at the Secretariat Station reached its entry point from the ticket counter at 6:00 pm.
She also experienced a similar scene at the last moment on Sunday night.
The MRT also took more time to leave stations due to mounting passenger pressure as many occupied doorsteps for lack of space inside.
smunima@yahoo.com