Dhaka Metro Rail resumed its operations on Sunday morning after a suspension of over a month due to damage caused during the recent student-led mass movement.
Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) Director (operations) Nasir Uddin confirmed the matter to UNB saying that the operations resumed around 7:10am from Dhaka’s Uttara Station.
He informed that the metro rail will operate from now on following the previous schedule.
However, the Mirpur-10 and Kazipara stations will remain closed due to "unavoidable reasons."
Much in the troubled South Asian nation remains in political turmoil since the revolution that ousted Sheikh Hasina and ended her 15-year-long iron-fisted rule, but on Sunday, the trains at least were back on track, reports UNB.
However, the resumption was delayed due to an "unavoidable situation," later identified as a strike by metro rail workers that began on August 6. The workers returned to their duties on August 20, paving the way for the restoration of services.
On the same day, Ehsanul Haq, senior secretary, the Road Transport and Highways Department, visited the Bangladesh Secretariat metro rail station and directed officials to take the necessary steps to restart metro services from August 25.
Return to normal
Banker Shaheen Sultana said she was delighted her commute to work was a "relaxed" affair after weeks of car-clogged gridlock on the roads, reports AFP.
"I am very happy that it is working again," 40-year-old Sultana said, as she exited a station near her workplace in the city's commercial heart. "It is a great relief."
"In the absence of the metro I had to take the bus to work," said Kaosar Khan, a speech therapist at a private hospital in the city.
"I faced massive traffic snarls," Khan, 25, added. "It used to take two hours on the bus, but with the metro, I can reach my destination in 15 minutes".
"They wanted to say if you go against us, you will have to suffer the consequences," said Mohammad Hridoy, 28, a technology worker waiting at the platform.
"The shutdown seemed more deliberate than necessitated by circumstances."
On Sunday, some passengers said the metro attack was a blot on the reputation of the protesters.
"Why hurt the nation and destroy public property?" said Sharmin Sultana, 55, a housewife travelling with her young daughter, a yellow scarf covering her head.
"We should protect our national property, irrespective of party politics."
Interim govt to declare metro rail a KPI
Meanwhile, the interim government is taking decisive steps to designate the Dhaka Metro Rail as a Key Point Installation (KPI) and emergency service, aiming to prevent future attacks and vandalism.
Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, adviser to the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, made this announcement during a briefing at the secretariat station of the metro rail on Sunday morning, reports UNB.
"The government is actively working to upgrade the metro rail's status to a KPI," said Khan. "This measure will significantly enhance security and safeguard the metro rail from any acts of vandalism."
He emphasised that declaring the metro rail an emergency service is essential to ensure its uninterrupted operations, which are crucial for the city's daily commute.
When asked about the perpetrators behind the recent disruptions, the adviser dismissed the notion that those advocating for change in the country were responsible, instead attributing the incidents to "miscreants."
