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Published : 15 Oct 2024, 03:31 PM
The Dhaka Mirpur-10 metro rail station, which was damaged during the violence surrounding the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, has finally reopened to the public.
According to Road Transport & Bridges Advisor Mohammad Faozul Kabir Khan, Tk 12.5 million has been spent to repair the station.
Passengers have been able to board the metro rail from the Mirpur-10 station since Tuesday morning. Despite the crowded compartments, most passengers expressed their relief that the station had reopened soon.
While visiting the station around 10:30am, the advisor said: “It was possible to do this after swapping some equipment from other stations without disrupting their operations.”
“We need a bit more equipment here. The ones that we used for the replacements will be restored as well. We will need another Tk 176 million for this. This will take the total cost to Tk 188.6 million.”
He added that it was possible to reopen the stations with the help of metro experts from Bangladesh and abroad.
On Jul 19, two metro stations at Kazipara and Mirpur 10 were vandalised and set on fire. Following the attacks, a report was issued on Aug 14, according to the authorities of the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited, or DMTCL.
Earlier, on Oct 14, DMTCL Managing Director Mohammad Abdur Rouf said: “It did not take any contractor or foreigners to fix this station. The DMTCL fixed the two stations [Kazipara and Mirpur-10].”
Advisor Faozul told bdnews24.com: “We had formed an ‘oversight committee’ headed by Nafiul Hasan, the additional secretary of the ministry, to repair the metro rail. We had appointed a competent individual who has previous experience of working in foreign metro rail projects. A representative of the student movement was also involved. This committee has closely monitored the issue.”
He added that it was possible to reopen the station due to the help of the employees of the ministry as well as the metro rail.
After the vandalism and attack amid the protests, it was said that it would take around Tk 3 billion to repair the Mirpur-10 and Kazipara stations. In addition, it was also said that it would take a year to complete the repair work.
While referring to the previously mentioned cost and timeline for the repair works, the advisor said: “We had heard so many things. But we were able to complete it at a lower cost in a shorter span of time. Learning from this experience, we will see how we can complete future developmental projects at a lower cost. We hope we can use the money for the benefit of the common people.”
When asked whether funds for the metro rail project were wasted or used for corruption, Faozul said: “We are still calling it a waste of money. Because if we say corruption, we have to be sure of it.”
“Our primary task is to appoint a professional who is an expert on metro rails to be the managing director.”
In addition, he promised that only ‘qualified people will be appointed without any outside influence’ for the different positions of the metro rail project.
When asked if the fares will be reduced, the advisor said: “We will determine this after coordinating and considering the government’s expenses.”
The Dhaka Metro Rail suspended operations on Jul 18 due to vandalism and arson attacks amid the quota reform movement for government jobs.
After more than a month of its closure, the metro rail was opened on Aug 25, but the two stations that were damaged during the protests were still closed.
The Kazipara station was opened for the public after the completion of its repair work.
On Dec 28, 2022, the metro rail section from Uttara North station to Agargaon was inaugurated. After that, all 16 stations of the MRT-6 line from Uttara North to Motijheel were opened for public use.
