Lifeline: Dhaka Metro resumes service after more than 30 days, commuters heave sigh of relief
Dhaka (PTI): The Dhaka Metro resumed services on Sunday over a month after it was shut for passengers during the unprecedented anti-government protests in Bangladesh with two of its stations bearing the brunt of vandalism.
These two stations—Mirpur-10 and Kazipara—will however remain closed, according to an official notification.
Commuters, especially students and office-goers, heaved a sigh of relief as they had to travel through Dhaka’s notorious traffic congestions daily to reach their destinations.
According to the official notification, the services resumed in the morning around 7 am.
Mirpur-10 and Kazipara stations were vandalised in July during the anti-government protests. The Dhaka Metro services were shut for passengers in the third week of July and coupled with choc-a-bloc streets due to protests had nearly paralysed the public transportation system in the capital.
Many commuters who otherwise were using cab services or autorickshaws for travelling to university and other areas on Sunday used the metro after a gap of over five weeks.
Dhaka Metro, whose current network spans from Uttara North to Motijheel, is operated by the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL).
“We are planning to make the metro rail infrastructure a key point installation with enhanced security for its protection from any kind of vandalism,” Road Transport and Communication Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan said.
Khan said the interim government also plans to declare metro rail operations as an essential service to prevent any disruption in the service. He travelled between Agargon station and Bangladesh Secretariat station in the metro.
A Dhaka High Court official told PTI that he used the metro on Sunday to travel to his office, and the resumption of services has come as a big relief for daily commuters like him.
On December 28, 2022, Bangladesh launched its first metro rail service with Japanese assistance to ease commuting in the capital Dhaka, one of the most congested cities in the world.
Called Dhaka MRT Line 6, it initially operated on an 11.73-km section from Uttara North to Agargaon, consisting of nine stations. The then prime minister Sheikh Hasina had inaugurated the project.
In November 2023, the section from Agargaon to Motijheel having eight stations and spanning 9.53 km, was inaugurated by Hasina.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is working on the Dhaka Metro project (three lines) as a consultant, with varying degrees of involvement, a senior official of the DMRC had earlier said.
Besides the presently operational Line 6, DMRC is involved as a consultant for Line 5 North and Line 1 in the Dhaka Metro project.
“About 10 DMRC employees were posted in Dhaka as part of the metro project there. They have all returned safely to India,” a senior official of the DMRC said in response to a PTI query.
A large number of Indian nationals have returned to India from Bangladesh since the protests began on July 1.
The unprecedented anti-government protests reached a crescendo on August 5. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India on that day, even as protesters had termed the fall of the government and her departure a “day of victory”.
Asked if the DMTCL has approached the DMRC to send consultants for the ongoing or planned construction works, the senior official said the DMRC officials are “extending the necessary cooperation as per the terms and conditions of our engagement”.
“However, any decision regarding the return of the employees will be taken as per the advisories issued by India’s Ministry of External Affairs,” he added.
Asked if the DMRC is remotely monitoring the project in the absence of physical presence of its employees and experts on the ground in Dhaka, the official said, “Yes, currently, the DMRC officials engaged with the Dhaka Metro project are extending the necessary cooperation through online mode.”
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
