Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

Bangladeshi airlines and bus operators yesterday suspended regular passenger-carrying trips to India following India’s sweeping travel restriction on foreigners to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

Bus operators are bracing for bumpy roads ahead in the wake of India’s ban on entry of foreign nationals until April 15 and people avoiding travel within the country over apprehensions centring the coronavirus outbreak.

The outbreak of coronavirus in China has begun affecting two mega projects in Bangladesh -- the Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project and the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project – “to some extent”, project officials said.

The cost of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge Construction Project has gone up to Tk 16,781 crore from Tk 9,734 crore.

Construction site of the much anticipated Padma bridge is humming with activity in the final phase of the project, but worries surround the involvement of the Chinese company building the bridge, whose headquarters is situated in Wuhan, the epicentre of the global coronavirus outbreak.

Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has significantly reduced its mobile court drives against unfit and illegal vehicles as well as errant drivers since November last year, leaving the road transport sector in chaos.

Private transport owners are obstructing the BRTC initiative to launch new buses, mostly double-deckers, on different routes in the country as they fear this will slash their income.

Between 1990 and 2017, the increase in the road crash fatality rate per capita was three times higher in Bangladesh than that across South Asia, according to a World Bank report.

Ever since Bangladesh achieved independence, Japan has been standing by the country through thick and thin like a trusted friend.

It took the government almost nine years to draw up a project for relocating chemical factories and warehouses from Old Dhaka’s Nimtoli where an inferno claimed 124 lives in 2010.

Carrying a small bag, Ahsan Ullah Tutul yesterday attended a press conference organised to seek justice for his son and numerous others killed in road accidents.

It’s a classic case of how poor planning can increase the cost of a project and delay its implementation. The upgrade of the 70km road from Joydevpur to Elenga in Tangail to a four-lane highway was due to be completed by March 2018 at a cost of Tk 2,788.45 crore.

Setting a rare example, the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has completed a mega project on time, saving around Tk 1,400 crore.

The country’s first-ever expressway from Dhaka to Faridpur’s Bhanga upazila is going to be opened for public next month as construction work of the road is almost done.

Accepting another demand of road transport association leaders, the government has relaxed the experience requirement for getting a heavy vehicle driving licence.

Work on several mega development projects may be hampered if the situation over coronavirus does not improve soon.

To preserve the durability of bridges, Road Transport and Bridges Ministry last week issued a set of directives to the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) to stop sand lifting near bridges.

Discussions on the much-talked about sub-regional connectivity initiative -- BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) -- are going to resume after around two years.

Bangladesh Railway has expressed serious reservations about a move to extend a metrorail line up to Kamalapur Railway Station, saying it will jeopardise its mega plan to turn the country’s prime railway station into a multimodal transport hub.

Giving in to the pressure from transport associations, the government has waived the late fines for vehicle owners and drivers who failed to update their documents on time.