২১শে নভেম্বর, ২০২৪ খ্রিস্টাব্দ
সংস্করণ:
Our capital Dhaka is four hundred years old. This city is completely unplanned. The area under the jurisdiction of Dhaka Capital Development Authority (RAJUK) is 1500 square kilometers. According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) latest census data (2022), about 1.3 million people live in the two city corporation areas of Dhaka. According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), the number of vehicles registered in Dhaka Metropolis is around 20 lakh 52 thousand. The large number of people, the proportion of private vehicles on the road and the lack of planning and management have made Dhaka a congested city.
According to the report of Bangladesh Institute of Development Research (BIDS), the annual financial loss due to traffic congestion in the capital is Tk 1 lakh 1 thousand 36 crore, which is 2.9 percent of the GDP. Declining per capita income. This has reduced growth by more than 3 percent. The poverty alleviation rate is also falling to around 2.5 percent. Add to that the physical and mental damage caused by traffic jams and the losses will increase further. Daily traffic jams consume 50 lakh working hours. Around 1997-98, the average speed of vehicles on the roads of Dhaka was 25 kilometers per hour. In the year 2005, the research conducted by the Accident Research Institute of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, BUET, showed that the average speed of vehicles in Dhaka city was about 21 kilometers per hour. The same institute conducted a study on the speed of vehicles on the main roads of Dhaka last April 13. It was seen that the average speed of cars in Dhaka that day was 4.8 kilometers per hour. All in all, the speed of vehicles is decreasing in Dhaka. According to a report of the influential magazine Time last September, based on research by the US National Bureau of Economic Research, Dhaka is now on top of the list of the world’s slowest cities.
Field officers of DMP’s traffic department have considered 15 areas outside Farmgate and Vijay Sarni as hotspots (centres) of traffic congestion. Which includes Kuril Bishwaroad, Badda, Rampura, Mohakhali Bus Terminal area, Paltan, Gulistan, Sadarghat, Shahbagh, Banglamotor, Malibagh, Jatrabari, Syedabad, Newmarket, Science Lab and Mirpur-10 Roundabout. Five types of mismanagement can be seen on the streets of Dhaka (a). Pedestrians walk on the road as almost the entire footpaths are occupied by hawkers. (b) After releasing the traffic signal, the buses cross the road and block the road and start picking up passengers. As a result, the vehicles behind cannot move forward. (c) Once rickshaws were prohibited through the roundabout, now rickshaws ply. The rickshaw drivers crowded the intersection and waited for the passengers. As a result, the road becomes narrow. (d) Even if there is a pedestrian bridge, people cross the road by raising their hands and stopping the vehicles. (e) Drivers of rickshaws, motorcycles, private cars and buses start moving without obeying the signal when given an opportunity. As a result, traffic jams are created. The research institute Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) presented a survey report last September and said that Dhaka residents spend 46 minutes every 2 hours on the road sitting in traffic jams. Due to traffic jams, city residents are losing time and money.
Taking all these things into consideration, the present government took the initiative to push public transport. In continuation of this, Metrorail and Dhaka Elevated Expressway have become two gifts of relief for the citizens of the capital who are stuck in traffic jam. Now everyone knows how these two infrastructures have changed the face of Dhaka.The traffic jam is gradually being removed in Dhaka. The government decided to build metro rail throughout the city to relieve the traffic jam in the capital Dhaka. According to that plan, the construction of Metrorail is planned in six phases. By 2030, the metro rail will run on six routes in the capital Dhaka and its surroundings. A decision has been taken to construct metro rail in six phases by combining overpass and subway. From MRT line 1 to MRT line 6, these metrorails will be in the capital Dhaka and suburbs. The journey of the full-length metro began with the inauguration of the metro rail by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on November 4. By doing this, the metro rail running across the highway touches the commercial area of Motijheel. City dwellers can go to Motijheel in a short time from Uttara via Farmgate by this metro. This has saved the working hours of the commuters. No traffic jam; No rush of passengers in the bus; After putting on the AC air, you will be going from Uttara to Motijheel in a short time. If such journey goes to Narayanganj, Gazipur, Narsingdi, Munshiganj and Manikganj districts then how will it be? Yes such a plan has been adopted by DMTCL authorities. In the future, DMTCL has started working to take the wheel of metro rail to the entire city of Dhaka and also to some cities and suburbs of Dhaka district. The government has taken up five more metro rail projects to facilitate communication between the capital and the surrounding areas. Work has started with the target of implementing the projects by 2030. Dhaka metro rail new route is 130 km. Even old Dhaka, famous for 52 markets and 53 goals, cannot be left out. Bangladesh, which has changed dramatically, has brought a revolution in the communication infrastructure sector. | 6 lakh 12 thousand people are added to Dhaka city every year; It stands at 1 thousand 700 people daily.
Starting from the airport area of Dhaka and extending to Farmgate after 11 and a half kilometers, a part of the capital’s signalless Udal road was opened last September. After the construction process of the project started on January 19, 2011, it took about 13 years to complete this stretch of road. The people of Dhaka started getting the benefits of this partial status was launched. Although the main road is 11 and a half km, this section is connected to another 11 km through 15 ramps. As a result, the residents of the capital are crossing the 22 km area of Dhaka. By the end of this year, the concerned authorities want to open up to Kutubkhali on Dhaka Chittagong Road for public use. The Dhaka Elevated Expressway built along the railway line goes from Kaowranbazar towards Moghbazar. On this route, the elevated expressway has crossed the flyover twice in front of BFDC and at Moghbazar. Between Kawran Bazar and Bangla Motor area, Hotel Sonargaon is on one side and Beam School and College is on the other. In this part, the construction of the expressway is going on by filling several parts of the Hatir Jheel. When this project started, there was no plan for Hatir Jheel in the design. Later it was added. As a result, Old Dhaka is also connected with the elevated expressway. A ramp of Panthkunj Expressway will reach from Hatirjheel on Metrorail, which will pass through Kataban in front of Motaleb Plaza and go to Palashir junction. Through this, the people of Old Dhaka including Neelkhet, Azimpur, Lalbagh, Chawkbazar will come under the benefit of Dhaka Elevated Expressway. Dhaka Elevated Expressway runs straight from Moghbazar to Qutub Khali on Chittagong Road along the railway line.
The work on the elevated expressway is 72 percent complete as of January 30. The concerned authorities want to complete the remaining 28 percent work by December this year. The elevated expressway will run past the Kamalapur Stadium. The total length of the elevated expressway from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Qutub Khali on Chittagong Road is 19.73 km. After 11 and a half kilometers have already been prepared, more or less 8 kilometers are left. There are 31 ramps in this route. The elevated expressway will connect a total of 45 km. 31 points of the capital will be connected with this elevated expressway. The concerned authorities are of the opinion that if the entire elevated expressway is opened, the traffic congestion in the capital will be reduced to a great extent. And by doing this the travel of the capital people will be easier as well as time and money will be saved. If the communication system is simplified and modernized, it will have a significant impact on the economic development of the country.
(PID Feature)
