Published : 17 Mar 2023, 08:56 PM
Updated : 18 Mar 2023, 01:21 AM
Smrity Akter, a th grader, was excited as she arrived at Agargaon Metro Rail Station on the open-top double-decker bus that was used in the parade celebrating the Bangladesh team’s win at SAFF Women's Championship.
Smrity looked outside through the window on her first metro trip with immense joy. Her friends – Lamia, Rakiba and Jhumur – were also delighted, all wearing red and white T-shirts and caps with a photo of Bangabandhu.
Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited, or DMTCL, organised the pleasure trip for 70 children like Smrity and her friends from two orphanages in Tejgaon and Mirpur to mark National Children's Day on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s 103rd birth anniversary.
Smrity said she was craving the opportunity as it was her first metro rail trip.
“It feels very good. I’ve been watching metro trains on TV ever since its launch. For the first time I’ve witnessed this. Thanks to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for launching the metro services in Bangladesh.”
The excitement over Bangladesh’s first metro train services has not subsided months after the launch, with families streaming into the trains for joy rides on holidays.
Kohinur Azad Moli, a teacher at a school for people with special needs, was one among them who came for a holiday metro trip along with her grandson Ishan Azad. She also thanked the prime minister for the metro rail.
The children from the orphanages celebrated Bangabandhu’s birthday by cutting a cake at the Metro Rail Exhibition and Information Centre after reaching Diabari. The organisers took them to the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Dhanmondi afterwards.
