Since 1998, Kamal Saleh has been running his eatery in Purana Paltan, but with the commencement of the Metro Rail project, his business has suffered a decline.
He points out that because of the mega constriction work, footpaths along the construction site have been removed resulting in fewer customers to his shop and financial losses.
Saleh is not alone in his plight. City dwellers passing through this busiest area have been witnessing financial losses and enduring long days of suffering due to the incoordination between Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) and the city corporation.
MAN Siddique, managing director of DMTCL, said that the road and footpaths will be renovated and handed over to the city corporation after the completion of the metro rail work.
However, the condition of the road is currently very bad, and neither the city corporation nor the Metro Rail authorities are willing to take responsibility.
The lack of coordination is imposing a heavy toll on common people who are facing the consequences of this disarray.
A visit to the area found a long traffic jam caused by potholes from Press Club to Purana Paltan. These potholes lead to water accumulation during monsoon rains, resulting in frequent accidents.
Additionally, the movement of passengers is disrupted as roads are occasionally closed to facilitate the transfer of heavy vehicles, cranes, hand lifts, and other construction equipment.
Despite these challenges, the project engineers of Metro Rail are confident about the progress.
The work is being conducted vigorously, with each department fulfilling its responsibilities as the government aims to launch the metro rail in October.
The officials assert that once the metro rail extends up to Motijheel from Agargaon, passengers' suffering will be alleviated, and the pressure on normal vehicles will reduce significantly.
Moreover, there are plans to increase one coach in the future to accommodate passenger demand.
On-duty traffic police Sergeant Sarwar at Purana Paltan intersection said he expects that once the metro rail work is completed, the road will no longer be narrow, and the traffic jam will diminish significantly.
His colleague Sergeant Sabuj also said the huge crowd of rickshaws on the narrow road worsens traffic congestion.
Local residents are waiting for heaving a sigh of relief after two months following years of suffering.
They are hopeful that once the project is fully completed, travel times will significantly reduce, making their journeys more efficient.
“We are happy that works of metro rail are about to complete, although we had to suffer for years. Once the project completes, we will be able to travel in a very short time,” said a student of Jagannath University.
A passenger travelling from Mirpur-10 to Purana Paltan said that now it takes 2-3 hours to reach Paltan from Mirpur. Once the metro rail starts, it will take only 20 minutes, so the journey will be much easier, he said.
Metro Rail is a priority project of the government and it now operates between Uttara and Agargaon. Authorities are planning to run trains on the Agargaon-Motijheel section in October and they are now conducting trial runs on the section.
