& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Viability of metro for mass transport still questioned

Tawfique Ali
Government decision to go for underground railway for Dhaka's mass transport system is not based on any feasibility study, said leading transport experts.
A comprehensive feasibility study should have been carried out first to ascertain the types of transport suitable for the city and affordable for the people, they said.
Dr Rahmatullah. policy advisor of Transport Sector Management Reform of the Planning Commission, said feasibility study is required to determine suitable types of transport and make it available at affordable cost. "It all depends on study where to construct underground rail and where elevated rail," he said.
Dr Mahabubul Bari, senior assistant manager. Transport for London, UK. said that mass rapid transit (MRT) system is designed anywhere in the world to suit the needs of the mass people and made affordable for them.
’It will go just futile if left as a mere profit making enterprise in the hands of private entrepreneurs," said Bari, who has reviewed the SIP ’This is why government subsidy in metro system is a general practice all over the world.’
Metro transport system must be integrated properly and designed in harmony with other
modes of transport like pedestrians, bicycles and rickshaws," he said, "Otherwise, it will not serve
the purpose of carrying the mass people."
But the way government has taken the decision for underground railway clearly shows that these factors have not been taken into considerations, he said.
The government on November 4 decided to go for underground railway network on a priority basis to resolve transport need and mitigate traffic-congestion in the capital city.
The 12-member committee, formed on October 25, 2007 and headed by the then Communications Adviser MA Matin, decided to implement the project with private entrepreneurs on build-own-operatebasis.
The committee prioritised underground railway out of three proposed options underground rail, elevated expressway and monorail. The Board of Investment (Bol) has been asked to solicit private sector investors for the job.
But according to Bangladesh Private Sector Infrastructure Guidelines of 2004, in case of projects involving solicitation, the government "will identify suitable project, carry out feasi bility studies, prepare commercial and contractual framework, prepare tender documents and seek tendersfrom investors...." Prof Jarnilur Reza Chowdhury, vice-chancellor of Brae University, who headed a 31-member advisory committee on STP, said that the committee recommended metro railway system as a long-term solution to transport problem of Dhaka.
"But a technical and economic study for underground railway should have preceded the decision," he said. "Feasibility study is a must and government has to carryout it."
Mubasshar Hussain, president of the Institute of Architects Bangladesh, said technical and socio-economic surveys are a must before going for underground rail to ascertain feasibility with regard to natural condition, maintenance and people's affordability.
Khondker Neaz Rahman, an urban planner, said justification of such an expensive project is questionable in a country like Bangladesh that does not have plenty of wealth.
"We must explore how we can reap maximum benefit out of least expense," he said.
According to sources, expensive and investmentintensive venture like underground railway would be beneficial for international financing institutions, multinational investor organisations, contractors and bureaucrats.
The ministry in June selected a local firm, out of only two, to construct a 52-km tube in four years in the city at a cost of around Tk 6,200 crore, said sources. However, the government now will float fresh tender for selecting a private company for it.
Metro transport system for mass rapid transit (MRT) is basically based on railway
service. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system may be a provisional measure for an interim period as the construction of rail-based MRT will take at least six to seven years.
There are three proposed BRT systems in the STP. One is from Uttara to Sayedabad along Pragati Sarani (Biswa Road), another is from Gabtoli to Jatrabai along Mirpur Road and the remaining one is from Uttara to old town along the Airport Road.
Benefit of BRT is that it is capable of carrying ten to twelve thousand people at a time per hour in one direction. But the ultimate goal for metro transport system should be railway-based MRT, Dr Rahmatullahsaid.
According to Rahmatullah, around 80 to 100 private motor vehicles are registered every day in the capital leading to more and more traffic congestion. This is why an integrated metro transport system is required soon.
He underscored the need for optimum utilisation of the existing roads freeing them from illegal occupancy. Otherwise, he said, no attempt will yield any result in resolving transport crisis in the capital.
Communications Secretary Dr Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman said that they would carry out a feasibility study later.
"We have undertaken the underground railway project on priority basis as the 12-member committee of experts thought that it is more suitable and viable," he said.
"We had to take a decision in this regard even before feasibility study, because so far it has been only talks and no tangible action," he said.