The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed Thursday launched the execution of Strategic Transport Plan (STP) for building a safe, easy and efficient communications system in the greater Dhaka area, saying that it's time to make the capital city habitable by cleansing it of environment pollution and traffic jam.

He regretted that the city-dwellers have to suffer much being deprived of facilities of many city-development schemes for not starting the projects in right time or delayed start or foot dragging on their implementation.

He blamed these unwarranted problems on a lack of coordination among city-development departments concerned and service-providing organizations.

The head of caretaker government made the observations as he formally inaugurated the implementation works of the 20-year-long STP mega-project for sustainable, safe and environment- friendly transport and communications system encompassing Dhaka and adjacent districts of Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Narsingdi, Gazipur and Manikganj.

He gave the go by switching on the scheme at a function organized at Osmani Memorial Auditorium by Dhaka Transport Coordination Board (DTCB) of the Communications Ministry.

The project will be implemented in phases in the sprawling STP command area measuring about 17,400 square kilometers.

Its implementation has fallen behind almost three years for not activating and approving the project in right time. The scheduled implementation period of the first phase of STP was 2005 to 2009, the launching ceremony of the Strategic Transport Plan was informed during a presentation.

The present caretaker government approved the project this year, against the backdrop of commuters' abject suffering for outmoded transport system of the capital compounded with nagging traffic congestion that causes waste of valuable time in this high-speed age.

Additional executive director of DTCB Dr SM Saleuddin made a short presentation on the multimodal transport system in the burgeoning capital, which involves an expenditure of 5.2 billion US dollars, excluding the cost of land acquisition. Construction and reconstruction of about 330 kilometers of roads and highways, including 50 new roads, flyover, elevated expressways, metro (underground railway), circular waterways, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Rapid Mass Transit (RMT), bus- route rationalization, traffic-system development and safe environment are the major components of the STP.

The feasibility study of metro and elevated expressway has been started for building the underground and up-ground communications networks.

Communications Adviser Maj Gen (retd) Ghulam Quader presided over the launching ceremony of STP activities. Secretary of Roads and Railways Division M Mahbubur Rahman delivered welcome address. Advisers, special assistants and civil and military officials were among others present at the function.

The CA said his government has given an important consideration to the matter of increasing scope and facilities of city life alongside resolving people's problems and fulfilling their expectations.

"This government already has taken initiative to further expedite the DTCB and, at the same time, laid special importance on advancing the STP which had been stuck up for long," he the meet.

He noted that Dhaka city is turning into a mega- city in the context of changing times.

He said DTCB was formed aiming to improve the transport system of Dhaka city through adopting a safe and coordinated transport and communications system. This institution remained almost inactive for a long time.

Alongside increasing population, economic activities and industries have increased, so has the number of vehicles, he said. Roads have not increased in proportion to the rate at which the number of vehicles increased.

"As a result, intolerable traffic jam, air and noise pollution and so on become a matter of city life. On the one hand, civic amenities have decreased and on the other increased sufferings," he said.

The chief executive of the country for the interim period told his audience that he had no hesitation to say that transport system of Dhaka city today fell far short of fulfilling the expectation of city-dwellers for a lack of long-term and coordinated planning of city development.