It is good news that the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) has approved the construction of two more Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) lines in Dhaka.
To say that every citizen of Dhaka, from all walks of life, is frustrated with the traffic would be a gross understatement.
To that end, the news of the city’s metro rail was naturally met with widespread approval when it was first introduced.
Bangladesh has also been experiencing commendable economic development, essentially spearheaded by the PM and the government’s vision, and there is little doubt that the MRT project is a cornerstone for the government’s plans to fix the infrastructure of the capital.
The people too began to hope that this would finally be a saviour when it comes to reducing the traffic in the city.
Additionally, Dhaka is consistently ranked as among the cities with the worst air in the world by the US-based Air Quality Index (AQI) and the metro lines would contribute largely towards improving Dhaka’s air quality.
Therefore, it is safe to say that a lot hinges on the implementation of Dhaka’s metro rail.
It is not just the years, the labour, or the over Tk100,000 crore that is going to be spent on the project -- it is people’s hopes and aspirations, along with the government and the PM’s vision and the future of the country’s capital that is at stake here.
Therefore, there is no scope to mess this up. We must make sure there are no delays, no corruption, no overspending.
This is one of those projects -- because of its sheer size and magnitude, and because just how many people’s lives will be transformed by it -- that we need to get just right.
