Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

Even though they are quite well paid and receive plenty of perks from the government, a “huge” number of civil servants own and run businesses on the side violating service rules, according to the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Two major railway expansion projects have plunged into uncertainty as China has decided not to finance one of those and the Chinese contractors for both the projects have refused to work following downward revision of the contract prices.

Realising their imminent failure to meet the deadline for early commissioning, the authorities are planning to launch the Uttara-Agargaon metro rail service by December next year.

The mega projects, whose completion are expected to raise Bangladesh’s GDP by as much as 4 percent, got about 48 percent more allocation in the upcoming fiscal year, as part of the government’s push to ensure their timely implementation.

The government has to spend more than 40,000 crore to bring Payra Sea Port in Patuakhali and Barishal under the rail network, a study says.

Although more than half of the project period has already elapsed, railways authorities could not take decision yet whether they would develop some infrastructure for the installation of electric traction under the ongoing Padma Bridge Rail Link Project (PBRLP).

Bangladesh Railway’s initiative to introduce electric train service in the country has not seen any progress over the last six years, thanks to indecision on selecting the route to be converted for electric traction.

With the railway authorities yet to determine the fate of 10 locomotives that a South Korean company supplied breaching contract, the project authority has sought one-year extension of deadline.

Although long-haul bus services remained suspended since early last month, it had very little impact on the number of vehicles which travelled between Dhaka and the north-western districts via Bangabandhu Bridge last month.

Construction of a rail line from Faridpur’s Madhukhali to Magura is finally going to start this month, around three years after the government approved the Tk 1,202.49-crore project.

More than seven years ago, in April 2014, the government had decided to build a new bridge at Kalurghat in Chattogram through a bilateral cooperation with South Korea.

The road, transport and bridges ministry has stepped back from its decision to start collecting toll from vehicles using the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga Expressway from July this year, as structures required for it are yet to be readied.

Bangladesh’s first ever electricity train was rolled out on the tracks on a test run yesterday, signaling that the country is now one step closer to fulfil its dream of having its own metro rail.

The authorities may begin a test run of the country’s first metro rail service later this month.

People’s wait for smoother and faster rail communication between Dhaka and Chattogram will be prolonged further as the deadline for expansion of the Akhaura-Lakhsam section on this crucial route is set to be extended for a second time.

The government has imposed several restrictions including an embargo on leaving work stations during the upcoming Eid holidays to check the mad rush of holidaymakers, but it lacks a clear outline on how to enforce these restrictions aimed at curbing spread of Covid-19.

Authorities of the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project (PBRLP) are likely to start installation of rail track on the Mawa-Bhanga section from July in a major development for the fast-track project being implemented by Bangladesh Railway.

Worried that the Covid situation in Bangladesh could worsen with the Indian variant entering and the upcoming Eid travel rush, the government is contemplating stricter measures.

As the government sticks to austerity in face of the pandemic, it has asked all ministries, except health and agriculture, not to issue work order for any physical works during the remainder of the current fiscal year.

Bangladesh Railway has started using the 10 locomotives that a South Korean company supplied breaching contract. The move comes even when a BR body is evaluating if those engines should be used.