With a view to easing traffic congestions at the city entrances as well as inside the capital, the four inter-district bus terminals would be relocated soon on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka. According to sources, the Gabtoli Inter-District Bus Terminal will be relocated to Savar, Mohakhali Inter-District Bus Terminal to Tongi in Gazipur, Sayedabad Inter-District Bus Terminal to Kanchpur while Fulbaria Inter-District Bus Terminal and Babubazar Bus Terminal to Keraniganj.
The Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) is the authority to relocate those inter-district bus terminals from capital Dhaka. Sources at the DTCA said, once the relocation of four inter-district bus terminals are relocated, seven intra-city bus terminals will be established at Gabtoli, Mohakhali, Sayedabad, Fulbaria, Mirpur Section-12, Basila of Mohammadpur and Sadarghat. These intra-city bus terminals will be used only for the buses plying on the city roads.
In 1984, the only inter-district bus terminal of the capital was established at Fulbaria near Gulistan. After the expansion of the capital, three more inter-district bus terminals were established at Gabtoli, Sayedabad and Mohakhali. Although, once those three terminals--Gabtoli, Mohakhali and Sayedabad--were located outside the capital, over time due to subsequent expansion of the capital boundary, now the locations of all those terminals are found to be inside the capital which causes huge traffic congestions.
According to sources, around 8,000 buses everyday travel to different cities across the country from four inter-district bus terminals at Gabtoli, Sayedabad, Mohakhali and Fulbaria in capital. Besides, almost all the buses pick up passengers and off load them by parking on the roadsides while most of those inter-district buses remain parked occupying city roads causing huge traffic jam on many busy roads near the terminals.
Moreover, there are around 400 counters for the buses in those four inter-district terminals. It is seen that the Gabtoli Inter-district Bus Terminal is expanded up to Kalyanpur and Shyamoli, while the Sayedabad terminal to Jatrabari and Golapbagh, Khandaker Raqibur Rahman, Executive Director of the DTCA, said, the decision to relocate the inter-district bus terminals has been taken with a view to easing traffic jam at all the entrances to the capital as well as inside it.
He said, preparation to conduct feasibility study on the relocation of three inter-district bus terminals is going on at present. The government is also going to appoint consultant for the purpose, said the DTCA official. The DTCA officials also said that they are going to establish several intra-city bus terminals for the buses to smoothen traffic jam.
According to sources, the government had taken the plan to relocate all those four inter-district bus terminals nine years ago in 2010. As per the decision, the then Dhaka City Corporation authorities had asked for land from the Rajdhani Unnyan Kartripakkha (RAJUK). But the process did not go ahead for unknown reasons.
