Wednesday, December 11, 2024

No respite for people from tailbac

Special traffic drive in capital costs Tk 1,00,000 a day
The communications ministry has sought Tk 19,00,000 from the finance ministry to pay the expenses to be incurred during the first 20 days of the ongoing special drive for improvement of the city’s traffic situation.
Nearly Tk 7,50,000 as rent for 25 micro-buses hired each day, allowance of Tk 1,000 per day for each magistrate and Tk 300 per day for each traffic sergeant are some of the costs included in the fund sought, said sources in the ministry.
The special drive was launched on August 24 to rid the city-dwellers of severe traffic congestion during the month of Ramadan. The drive is scheduled to continue throughout the holy month.
A senior finance ministry official said that about Tk 1,00,000 per day had been spent for the drive although it had not brought about any major improvement in the city’s traffic.
People are still suffering because of congestion caused by lack of space for the movement of too many motorised and non-motorised vehicles. Besides, faulty automatic signals and constant violation of traffic rules remain the other major causes.
The coordinator of the special drive, Shafique Alam Mehdi, also additional secretary of the communications ministry, admitted that traffic management had not improved although it had not deteriorated any further.
This [no further deterioration] is the major achievement of the special drive despite limited resources and logistics, he told New Age.
Some 699 cases were filed and Tk 5,60,450 was realised as fine by the mobile courts, while 23 unfit vehicles were dumped until August 31 by the special drive.
The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority and Dhaka Metropolitan Police have intensified checking of invalid documents and unfit vehicles.
Mehdi said they had made some recommendations, both short- and long-term, to the government. He hoped that the city’s traffic management would improve if the recommendations were executed.
Among the short-term remedies the committee recommended changes in the schools’ and offices’ timings and continuation of the special drive at a meeting with HT Imam, one of the prime minister’s advisers.
Mehdi also informed New Age that the communications ministry had taken over the responsibility of constructing six over-passes in level crossings in the capital from the Dhaka City Corporation.
The level crossings are said to be one of the major impediments against smooth movement of vehicles in key points of the capital like the Staff Road at Banani, and the intersections at Sonargaon, Maghbazar, Malibagh, Jurain and Syedabad.

Courtesy of NewAgebd

Related News

Low teacher pay harms education

Shahin Akhter Teachers continue to go underpaid compared with their fellows in other Asian countries which squarely affects the quality of education, the white paper on the state of the Bangladesh economy says. The average salary of a primary school teacher is about 27 per cent less than the average monthly per capita income and ... Read more

Khaleda Zia visits US embassy to complete visa process

News Desk : dhakamirror.com BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia went to the US Embassy in the capital on Wednesday afternoon to give her fingerprints for completing her visa application process. Upon her arrival at the embassy, its officials, including acting ambassador welcomed the BNP chairperson. Khaleda was accompanied by her personal physicians, BNP Standing Committee member ... Read more

Sajek, Khagrachari now open to visitors after being closed for over a month

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The tourism restriction imposed in Sajek valley of Rangamati and Khagrachhari for over a month was lifted today allowing visitors after 45 days. Rangamati Deputy Commissioner Mosharraf Hossain Khan announced the lifting of travel bans at the popular Sajek Union in Baghaichhari Upazila. Similarly, the Khagrachari Deputy Commissioner has also lifted ... Read more

Tourist access to suspend in St Martins in February

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government has decided that tourist access to Saint Martin’s Island will be suspended in February to protect the island’s fragile ecology and ensure environmental preservation. Tourists will be allowed to visit the island from November to January, with overnight stays prohibited in November. In December and January, tourists can stay ... Read more

Public univs to accommodate 37pc GPA 5 achievers

Shahin Akhter Around 63 per cent of examinees securing a Grade Point Average of 5 in this year’s Higher Secondary Certificate and equivalent examinations will not be able to get admitted to the public universities across the country due to lack of seats. Though the private universities in the country have sufficient seats to accommodate ... Read more

297 killed by lightning in eight months

News Desk : dhakamirror.com At least 297 people have been killed and 73 injured in incidents of lightning strikes across the country between February and September this year, according to Save the Society and Thunderstorm Awareness Forum (SSTAF). In the eight months, lightning strikes killed 152 people while they were doing agricultural works, SSTAF said ... Read more

Flood death toll climbs to 59, over 5.4 million affected

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Fifty-nine people, including 41 men, six women and 12 children, died in the devastating flood as deaths of five more people were reported on Saturday. So far, 14 deaths have been reported in Cumilla, six in Chattogram, 23 in Feni, nine in Noakhali, three in Cox’s Bazar, and one each in ... Read more

Flood death toll reaches 13, 4.5m affected in 11 districts

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Around 13 people have been killed and 4.5 million affected by floods in 11 districts of Bangladesh, the disaster management and relief ministry said Friday, reports AFP. Thousands of people awaiting emergency rescue remained beyond electricity and mobile network coverage as a flash flood unleashed by heavy rains and an onrush ... Read more

Bangladesh ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia freed

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia has been officially released. Former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was released on Tuesday, a day after Sheikh Hasina’s resignation as PM and fleeing the country amid an unprecedented student-led mass uprising against her authoritarian regime. The decision was revealed ... Read more

Eid-ul-Azha on June 17

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The holy Eid-ul-Azha will be celebrated in Bangladesh on June 17 (Monday) as the crescent moon of the Zilhaj month was sighted in Bangladesh’s sky on Friday evening (7 June). The National Moon Sighting Committee came up with the decision after reviewing information about the sighting of the moon at a ... Read more

Cyclone Remal: 40 dead animals found, 17 rescued hurt in Sundarbans

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The forest department officials on Tuesday said that so far they found 39 dead deer and a pig in the Sundarbans after the severe cyclone Remal that hit the forest on Sunday. Primarily they have estimated infrastructural damage of Tk 6.27 crore in the forest while the total damage, including animals ... Read more

Cyclone Remal claims at least 14 lives, affects nearly 37.58 lakh people in 19 districts

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Following its devastating impact into Bangladesh on Sunday night, Cyclone Remal has affected over 37.58 lakh people in 19 districts and taken at least 14 lives. While the cyclone has weakened into a deep depression, hundreds of villages in the southern parts of the country remain submerged. The Bangladesh Meteorological Department ... Read more

Alert issued as Cyclone Remal develops

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A weather alert has been issued by the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) as a low-pressure system in the southwest and west central Bay of Bengal gains strength, potentially developing into Cyclone Remal by Saturday. The system, currently moving northeastward, is expected to transform into a depression by early Friday. By Saturday, ... Read more

Cyclone ‘Remal’ likely to hit Bangladesh coasts on 26 May: Meteorologist

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Cyclone Remal is likely to make landfall between 6:00am and 12:00pm on 26 May in Bangladesh, affecting coastal areas from the Barguna in Barishal Division to Cox’s Bazar in the Chattogram Division, a meteorologist said today (21 May). The front of the cyclone may begin to enter coastal areas after 6:00am, ... Read more

5 consecutive days holiday for Eid-ul-Adha

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Government employees are scheduled to get five consecutive days off on Eid-ul-Azha. This includes two days of weekly holidays (Friday and Saturday) followed by another three days for Eid, according to government holiday list. Eid-ul-Azha is likely to be celebrated on June 17 this year.

Heavy rains, storms forecast for entire week

Schools open today after heatwave closures News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) forecasts heavy rainfall with thunderstorms across the country this week, starting on Tuesday and lasting through Saturday. As per the analysis of mathematical model of rainfall index, Bangladesh is likely to witness heavy to very heavy rainfall with thunderstorms starting ... Read more

Waiting for the rain

Tawsia Tajmim As the sun blazes relentlessly, desperate craving rises for rain, for nothing soothes Mother Nature quite like its cool embrace. After a brutal month-long heatwave, residents of Chattogram, Sylhet, and Dhaka finally caught a break with some rain on 2 May. However, the downpour was not strong enough to completely wash away the ... Read more

Hajj registration extended till Jan 18

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government, in a notice issued yesterday, extended the Hajj registration deadline for 2024 until January 18. It said aspiring Hajis would have to primarily deposit Tk 2.05 lakh, while the rest should be paid by February 29 for final registration. One has to pay Tk 5,78,840 under the general package, ... Read more

Dense fog disrupts communications across Bangladesh

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Cold and dense fog continued to disrupt life with road, air and waterways communication remaining suspended in the early hours of Tuesday as Bangladesh braces for this winter’s first cold wave likely to set in today. Authorities also confirmed until Tuesday the death of 14 people in cold-related diseases and road ... Read more

27,000 GPA 5 achievers not to get seat in public universities

Shahin Akhter Over 27,000 GPA 5 achievers in this year’s HSC and equivalent examinations cannot be admitted to the public universities due to fewer seats. A total of 92,595 examinees secured GPA 5 out of total 10,67,852 passed in the Higher Secondary Certificate examinations this year. But there are around 65,400 seats at the public ... Read more