Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

A project undertaken more than five years ago to convert the metre gauge railway line into dual gauge from Akhaura to Sylhet is likely to see further delay as questions have been raised over its rationale and high cost.

With the cabinet division having already directed Padma Bridge Rail Link Project (PBRLP) authority to redesign viaducts due to the poor vertical and horizontal clearance, the railways minister, who visited the site along with planning minister yesterday, tried to down play the problem.

Two and a half years ago, the government had approved a project to build a double rail line along the existing single track from Khulna to Darshana.

With infections and deaths from Covid-19 still far from over, a high-powered technical committee has warned that a “second wave” of coronavirus infections may be coming, advising the government to prepare a roadmap and take all-out preparations to prevent the possible resurgence.

Authorities of a project under the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) have proposed building 10 more bridges under their ongoing-project as they were able to save Tk 286 crore so far.

In a major setback, Padma Bridge Rail Link Project authorities have been asked to change its viaduct designs as the poor clearance of bridges would impede large lorries on approach roads.

Construction work of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge over the Jamuna river has finally started, more than three and a half years after the government approved the project.

Amid growing allegations that many project and field-level officials of Roads and Highways Department (RHD) are not attending field offices regularly, the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry has come up with almost similar directives it issued earlier to stop the malpractice.

Wait of Dhaka dwellers for the maiden metro rail service could linger as a contractor responsible for implementing the first phase of the much-hyped project sought a one-year extension due to the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic.

The cost and duration of the construction work of the third and fourth dual gauge railway tracks on Dhaka-Tongi route and doubling the dual gauge track on Tongi-Joydevpur route is going to increase further.

Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has finally allowed ride sharing services to resume their motorcycle operations on condition of the operators following a set of health safety guidelines during the prevailing pandemic.

The metro rail authorities have taken initiatives to bring back more foreign engineers and consultants to accelerate the construction work of country’s first metro rail project.

As the country is confronted with an unprecedented health emergency caused by the pandemic and multiple scams hitting the sector, the parliamentary watchdog concerned seems to be in a deep slumber.

The numbers of Covid-19 patients at the hospitals and those needing treatment at Intensive Care Units have increased over the last one month, suggesting that there is still a long way to go to bring the pandemic under control.

With the Bangladesh Railway and the metro rail authorities locked in a row over the extension of MRT Line-6 from Motijheel to Kamalapur in the capital, the Prime Minister’s Office is set to step in to resolve the dispute.

Ignoring the risks of further spread of Covid-19, the government has lifted the restrictions on public movement and activities from today even though the coronavirus pandemic is showing no sign of abating.

The authorities have taken an initiative to connect two major projects -- MRT-6 and BRT -- through a “link service” between Diabari and House Building areas of the capital’s Uttara.

A Japanese company is likely to build a bridge over the Tentulia and Kalabadar rivers to connect island district Bhola with Barishal under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative.

The deadline for finishing the Padma bridge is going to be extended by more than a year largely due to the pandemic.

Although the number of new infections and deaths from Covid-19 are still on the rise, authorities concerned have undertaken moves to normalise operations of public transport.