Misery in life without metro-rail in Dhaka after violent quota protest

Fardu Khan, a regular passenger of Dhaka Metro Rail, was continuously negotiating with ridesharing motorcyclists around 8am to travel to his office shortly in Karwan Bazar, reports bdnews24.com.
The riders at Pallabi in Mirpur were asking for Tk 250, while Khan offered Tk 200. He took a bus afterwards as nobody agreed to give him a ride at that rate.
It takes Tk 50 to reach Karwan Bazar from Pallabi.
Private job holder Khan's office starts at 9:15am, so he used to leave the house around 8:50am when the metro rail services were available.
"I used to reach by 9:05 or 9:10am. Now I am unable to reach by that time even if I step out two hours ago as the commute takes an hour more. Finding transport has become more difficult due to the rush of passengers. It feels unbearable amid the heat."
Khan is worried not only about the time but also about the cost.
"Now it is taking Tk 600-700 a day but the riders generally take Tk 150 per ride. Since there is no metro, they are also demanding higher fares now. No matter how much I earn; this is not possible to bear anymore."
The number of buses began to drop on the route due to a passenger crisis after the inauguration of the metro rail services in 2022.
Khan said the commute causes more suffering as there are fewer buses for so many commuters.
"People would have benefited if the government had opened the metro rail sooner; this is much needed."
On Jul 18, the police box under the footbridge at Mirpur-10 roundabout beneath the metro rail line and near the station was set on fire during the complete shutdown programme by the students demanding reforms to government job quotas. A video of a train running through the fire has become viral. Later the services came to a halt.
A group of people attacked and heavily vandalised the metro rail's Mirpur-10 and Kazipara stations in the evening of the following day. The saboteurs attacked everything, including the ticket vending machines and a punch machine at the entry of the main station. Pallabi and Mirpur-11 stations were also attacked on that day.
MAN Siddique, the managing director of the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited told the media that the renovation of the much-affected Kazipara and Mirpur-10 stations may take a year.
Many damaged equipment are not in repairable condition and they have to be imported again, he said.
As the train services are closed now, more than 250,000 passengers have to face the misery of notorious Dhaka traffic they had faced before the launch of the metro rail.
The commuters were rushing for buses, some were negotiating the fares with motorcyclists or travelling on autorickshaw from 8am-10am in the area stretching from metro rail's Pallabi to Shewrapara stations on Sunday.
Awaiting commuters were worried about being able to reach the office on time due to traffic congestion on the roads in Dhaka that morning.
The passengers said they had long become accustomed to a comfortable journey after the opening of the metro rail. They do not want the old misery to return: it costs both money and time.
Tanjila Yasmin, a private bank official, commutes regularly from Shewrapara to Nabisco.
She used to travel to Farmgate from Shewrapara station by metro rail and take a rickshaw to reach her office. She is travelling by autorickshaws since the metro rail is closed.
Tanjila said she had to leave the house keeping at least one and a half or two hours in hand after the closure of the train service. The cost has also shot up.
She is also anxious due to the attack on the metro rail. She said, "Maybe my station will be operational in a few days, but this incident has instilled such fear that there could also be vandalism in the metro rail, which was not the case earlier."
She demanded the attackers be brought to justice quickly.