Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

As the government fails to execute the ban on three-wheelers on highways and formulate regulatory guidelines, the illegal vehicles continue to take more lives.

With the country witnessing a sharp rise in the number of motorcycles over the last several years, around 40 percent of bikers are riding the two-wheelers without licences, making roads more prone to accidents.

The project to upgrade Hatirjheel-Amulia-Demra highway into a four-lane expressway is finally moving forward. The planned thoroughfare will work as an alternative gateway to Dhaka’s centre from Chattogram and Sylhet, and help reduce traffic congestion.

Bangladesh will see some great strides in its transportation system with a number of mega projects expected to come to fruition by the year-end, opening up new ways to boost economic growth.

The “rotation system”, the practice of operating fewer launches than what is permitted and overcrowding them with passengers, all to maximise profits, should be abolished, said the committee that investigated the MV Abhijan-10 fire incident.

Three officials of the Shipping Department and  BIWTA, four owners and four crew members of the MV Abhijan-10 are responsible for the fire on the vessel that killed 49, a probe committee has found.

Different bodies exist in Bangladesh to ensure road safety, but they are not empowered and lack effective coordination to get expected outcomes.

In June 2018, the Bangladesh Railways took up a Tk 3,602 crore project that would substantively enhance its operational capacity in three years.

Whenever a tragic incident hits the transport sector claiming people’s lives, a dismal picture of irregularities, mismanagement, and incompetence of the authorities gets exposed. 

A probe committee investigating the deadly fire on the MV Abhijan-10 has found engine faults that might have caused the fire. The two engines were changed last month without following the rules, officials said yesterday.

Already three years behind schedule, the Akhaura-Agartala dual-gauge railway link project is likely to miss its current deadline of June 2022 too.

The government has again relaxed the experience requirements to obtain driving licences for heavy and medium vehicles, following transport leaders’ demand.

To improve connectivity and cut travel time and cost, the government has planned to build around 50 major bridges under the network of Roads and Highways Department (RHD).

The government in May 2018 approved a project for constructing a rail line from Faridpur to Magura even before carrying out a feasibility study.

The railway authority is on its way to form a separate company to improve and professionalise catering and hospitality services on trains.

Bangladesh Railway has sought Russian funds in five projects that include Dhaka-Chattogram high-speed rail line project and the Bhanga-Payra rail line project.

Twenty Buet students were sentenced to death yesterday for their direct involvement in the murder of a fellow student in a dorm room, an incident that shocked the nation two years ago.

While the ruling Awami League is grappling with divisions and disputes over the union parishad polls, controversial activities of some leaders have severely embarrassed the party as well as the government.

The government is set to remove all complexities for the registration and operation of electric vehicles in Bangladesh as the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry has prepared a guideline in this regard.

While the construction work of a rail line from Chattogram to Cox’s Bazar is going on at speed to bring the tourist town under railway network, Bangladesh Railway has also started the preparatory work for operating railway services on the new route.