Road transport resumes, metro after interim govt

Buses and other public transportation, including long-haul services, resumed across the country, and water transport services also restarted on Tuesday (6 August). 

In the capital, as offices and educational institutions reopened, public transport services resumed early on Tuesday morning. Despite this, passenger numbers remained low, and there were no traffic jams in the city. 

Billal, a helper with Bihanga Paribahan, said that they started operations at 8am to transport office workers. While there were some passengers, the overall number was low due to the small number of commuters. The limited number of vehicles on the road allowed for more trips and contributed to the absence of traffic congestion. He said, "Due to the fewer vehicles, there is no traffic congestion, which enables us to make more trips."

Long-haul buses also resumed service despite challenging conditions on various points of the highway. Hanif Paribahan general manager Mosharraf Hossain said that only a few transport companies had restarted their services. Although some long-haul buses departed Dhaka for different destinations, they encountered issues on the way. 

"There are still roadblocks set up by agitators at several points, causing delays and vehicle vandalism. This results in longer journeys and financial losses for us, and causes panic among passengers. If the situation does not improve, we may have to suspend services until conditions become more favourable," he added. He urged authorities to take action against vandalism, which results in significant losses and impacts the country adversely.

However, the metro rail services will resume after the new interim government takes charge, according to Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd (DMTCL) officials.

"A decision on resuming the metro rail [Uttara-Kamlapur] services will be made after discussions with the new interim government," Managing Director of DMTCL MAN Siddique told The Business Standard on Tuesday (6 August).

A DMTCL source said initially, the metro will operate on routes excluding the Mirpur-10 and Kazipur stations. The train will not stop there and these two stations will be reopened after renovation. However, it is uncertain when the renovation work will begin.

Water transport services resumed on a limited scale, with a small number of passengers. Alamgir Kabir, Joint Director of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), reported that approximately 11 launches had departed Dhaka port by 5:30pm, with two more scheduled for the evening. The number of passengers remains low, but more launches may be deployed if passenger numbers increase.