The government has taken a three-dimensional plan on the mass transportation system in capital Dhaka in combination with road, rail and waterways, said sources concerned.
Such plan has been taken to improve efficiency, speed and convenience of the city commuters.
The sources said, this three-dimensional plan has been adopted to alleviate traffic congestion in the city, which has become a nuisance due to the expansion of communication system by giving priority only to the bus routes or road network.
According to sources, the plan has already been included in the Detailed Area Plan (DAP) of the Rajdhani Unnyan Kartripakkha (RAJUK).
Officials concerned said, as per the new planning, rail and water transportation networks will be coordinated with the existing road transportation network, so that city dwellers get a comfortable and better transportation or communication system in the near future.
Besides, with emphasis on non-motorised vehicles and pedestrian movement, instructions have been given to design a network in the DAP area.
DAP Director Ashraful Islam, also the chief urban planner of RAJUK, said that apart from roads and railways, waterways also have important roles in the capital’s transport system. “Sadly however,” Islam said, “We could not make best use of it. Therefore, DAP transport network has been proposed in coordination with the three dimensional plan.”
Many urban planners also appreciated many things positive in the DAP initiative. They suggested for proper coordination among all these three types of transportation system—road, rail and waterways.
Adil Muhammad Khan, general secretary of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) and also a professor in Urban and Regional Planning Department of Jahangirnagar University, termed the DAP proposal as a good initiative.
But he said, “The government should not remain limited just to the proposals. Immediate implementation of the planning is necessary.”
He also said, “Unfortunately we have ignored the water ways in the communication and transportation system of the capital. We almost have lost our rivers surrounding the capital. Most of the canals have been faced out. We can still make best use of the waterways.”
Referring to the proposed transport networks, officials concerned said that although there are huge potentials of railways and waterways like in the roads, but there is no coordination among these three communication system of the city. In such sitution the government has planned to create an integrated communication network with emphasis on roads, waterways and railways.
According to official sources, there are still about 1,327 kilometres of rivers and canals in the DAP area. However, many of the rivers and canals do not have width and navigability required for transportation while many of the canals have been transformed to box-culverts.
Considering the poor reality, 566.602 kilometers of waterways in the DAP area has been divided into three types. They are inter-regional, inland regional and collector waterways. The rest of the canals have been found to be narrow and not appropriate for transport movement.
DAP officials said these canals will be developed to create their navigability capacities.
Besides, the Ministry of Railway as well as the government has also planned to create a circular railway network around the capital to ease traffic jam inside Dhaka. As per the planning, a 81.9 kilometre long circular railway network will be constructed with double-line standard gauge.
According to the DAP officials, the circular railway network will have 20 stations around the capital. The stations will be set up at Tongi, Termukh, Purbachal, Beraid, Kayetpara, Demra, Sidhhirganj, Chowdhurybari, Chashara, Fatullah, Shyampur, Sadarghat, Babubazar, Nababganj, Shankar, Gabtoli, Dhaka Zoo, Birulia, Uttara and Dhour areas. These stations will be set up in-cordination with the road and waterway transportation system.
