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Published : 14 Oct 2024, 05:23 PM
The Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited has announced that the Mirpur-10 metro rail station, which was damaged amid the violence surrounding the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, will reopen on Tuesday.
DMTCL Managing Director Mohammad Abdur Rouf made the announcement on Monday in Dhaka’s Uttara.
He said, “Tomorrow, Advisor Mohammad Faozul Kabir Khan will inaugurate the operation of the Mirpur-10 station. At that time he will state how much has been spent on repairs at this station.”
“Two stations were vandalised on Jul 19. A report on these two stations was submitted on Aug 14. Then the advisor visited the two stations. He asked us to take measures to repair them and to start soon.”
Rouf said, “It did not take any contractor or foreigners to fix this station. The DMTCL fixed the two stations.”
Previously, during the Awami League government, a statement had suggested that it may take Tk 3 billion and around a year to complete repairs on the two stations.
Asked why such a statement was made, the managing director said: "To find out, you would have to ask the person or persons who were saying it."
Questioned how the service was restored so quickly, he said, “Local resources were used. Some items have also been taken from other metro rail stations. The DMTCL will not take more money from the government to fix these two stations.”
The headway time, or the time between two trains, of the metro rail will be reduced from 12 minutes to 10 minutes from Friday as trains will be run 72 times instead of 60.
The managing director said: "Under the changed circumstances, since reopening, the income from the metro rail between Aug 25 to Aug 31 was Tk 50 million. In September, the income was Tk 337 million, with average earnings per day of Tk 12.20 million. In the first 13 days of October, it took in Tk 112.20 million, with the average income per day at Tk 8.60 million. The intake is slightly lower due to the four days off in October [for Durga Puja]. We can provide the profit and loss information for the project after 2025. Then it will be fully operational to Kamalapur.”
The metro rail was closed on the afternoon of Jul 18 due to vandalism and arson amid the protests during the quota reform movement. The next day, the metro rail stations at Kazipara and Mirpur-10 were vandalised and set on fire. Attacks were carried out at the Pallabi and Mirpur-11 stations as well. After that, metro rail service was brought to a halt.
The metro rail reopened on Aug 25, but the vandalised stations could not be opened at the time. Eventually, the Kazipara station was opened to passenger traffic after repairs were completed.
On Dec 28, 2022, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated metro rail train service from Uttara North station to Agargaon. Then, step by step, all 16 stations of the MRT-6 line from Uttara North to Motijheel were made operational.
