Kazipara metro rail station set to reopen soon after repairs

A press conference on Wednesday will outline further details

The Kazipara metro rail station, damaged during the July unrest, will soon reopen, says Mohammad Abdur Rouf, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited, or DMTCL.

Rouf told bdnews24.com on Saturday, “Repair work at the Kazipara metro rail station started a while ago. We inspected technical aspects today [Saturday] and we plan to conduct the final trial on Sunday.”

When asked for an exact date, he said: “I cannot give a specific date, but it will open very soon. We will reveal more information during a press conference on Wednesday.”

The metro rail services were halted on the afternoon of Jul 18 due to acts of vandalism and arson during the protests demanding reforms to government job quotas.

The Kazipara and Mirpur-10 stations were attacked the following day and the Pallabi and Mirpur-11 stations were also damaged in the violence.

While metro services resumed on Aug 25, the two affected stations remained closed.

Rouf said the Kazipara station is being repaired using locally available equipment and materials.

“Our goal is to provide relief to passengers as quickly as possible. Our technical team and Japanese consultants are continuing their work,” he added.

Rouf also mentioned that the Mirpur-10 station would take longer to reopen, but efforts are under way to resume operations as quickly as possible.

On Monday, the government cancelled the contractual appointment of DMTCL’s former managing director, MAN Siddique, who was appointed on Oct 26, 2017, by the then Awami League government.

Rouf, who was the additional project director (finance and administration) of Line-5, was appointed as the acting managing director.