MRT development work has stalled, Baridhara-Natunbazar residents’ suffering at its peak

❐ Special Correspondent

Extensive work is currently underway to relocate utilities on Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line 1 and Line 5 across the capital’s Notunbazar, Bhatara, and Baridhara areas.

This construction, which began as part of the largest urban public transport plan in the country’s history, promises to transform Dhaka in the future, but for the local residents, it is currently an unbearable suffering.

As important roads have been blocked for a long time, traffic is disrupted on the one hand, and on the other hand, the livelihood of hundreds of traders in the area is being cut off.

A field visit revealed that a large section of the Baridhara by-road, passing the Coca-Cola point on the main road from Nadda to Notunbazar, has become practically impassable.

100 feet Madani Avenue, the road adjacent to Notunbazar, the road in front of Bhatara police station, the area in front of the DPDC office — utility relocation and road cutting work is going on everywhere. The dilapidated road causes traffic jams every day, thick clouds of dust are flying, and when it rains, the entire area turns into mud. This daily misery has now become a part of life for commuters and pedestrians in the area.

Roadside traders are the ones who are suffering the most. A restaurant trader from J Block, Baridhara, said that before the road was cut, the amount of breakfasts that were sold in the afternoon alone is not even close to the sales that can be achieved even if the restaurant is open 24 hours a day.

The businessman, who did not want to be named, said angrily, “If cars cannot park in front of the restaurant, how will people come to eat! If cars could park, there would be customers. God knows when we will be saved from this situation!”

When I visited the Gulshan Furniture showroom on the same road, I saw the managers and employees sitting idly on the sofas — no customers in sight.

Showroom manager Sohel Ahmed said in a disappointed tone, “Business has gone downhill. The showroom rent is 2.5 lakh taka. But there are no buyers. The owner is tired of paying losses. It was a good point for business. But after the road was cut, it was all over. All the shops on this road are in the same situation.”

Ibrahim Khalil, owner of Ibrahim Electric on Baridhara Road No. 3, in an alley next to the main road, said that people can’t find their way here.

He said, “People can’t come here. Where will the shopping be? Many people don’t even know the road, which way to enter. Will anyone spend so much money and come to the shop? It would be better if the work was completed quickly.”

Why this slow pace? Lack of coordination among various agencies

Project officials say that the situation has become complicated as work on MRT Line-1 and Line-5 under Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) is going on simultaneously in the same area. MRT-1 Project Director (Additional Responsibilities) Md. Sarwar Uddin Khan said that the work on multiple complex utility connections in this section is taking time.

Explaining the reason why the Baridhara by-road has not yet been made usable, he said, “The work of installing drainage pipes in the by-road in the Baridhara area, which has not yet been made usable, has been partially completed and the installation of pipes is yet to be done in another part, especially in front of the Thai Embassy. After this work is completed, DESCO’s 132 kV power line will be taken through that part, which will cross the main road and connect to the existing 132 kV line on the other side.”

Besides, there is a need to coordinate infrastructure between MRT Line-1 and Line-5, which is making the work more complicated. He said that the cars parked in front of the police station are also slowing down the work. Although a letter has been sent to the police administration in this regard, it has not been completely resolved yet.

Regarding the timeline, he said that this work has to be done in coordination with multiple organizations including DESCO, WASA, Titas Gas and City Corporation. The target is to complete the utility relocation work by next August and make the road initially usable. However, it will take some more time to complete the complete renovation.

Urban planner Professor Adil Mohammad Khan said, “Some suffering is normal in development work. However, if the work is prolonged, people’s suffering increases manifold.”

He believes that the issue of public inconvenience must be taken seriously into consideration during development work and alternative road systems must be introduced if necessary.

At the center of this work are the country’s two mega public transportation projects.

• MRT Line-1: This will be the country’s first underground metro rail. This route, which is about 19.872 km long from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Kamalapur, will have 12 underground stations. In addition, an 11.369 km elevated route from Notunbazar to Purbachal Depot is also being built. The entire project has been estimated to cost about 53,977 crore taka.
• MRT Line-5 (Northern Route): This approximately 20-kilometer long east-west connecting route from Bhatara to Hemayetpur will have 14 stations, 9 of which will be underground. Once this route is operational, it will take just 32 minutes to travel from Bhatara to Hemayetpur and will be able to transport more than 1.2 million passengers daily.

Experts say that the government has planned to build a metro rail network of about 140 kilometers in Dhaka by 2030. If this huge network of six lines is fully operational, about 5 million people will directly benefit. But the price that the people of Baridhara-Natun Bazar are currently paying to realize that dream is no less. In the face of this reality, roads are impassable, businesses are almost closed, and life is miserable — the August promise made by officials is now the only hope for the locals.