Sagar Biswas :
Two ambitious projects of Shipping and Railway ministries – waterbus service in riverine routes and DEMU [Diesel Electric Multiple Unit] train service – have failed to meet the commuters’ demand due to unrealistic approach of concerned authorities.
Both the services were introduced to give relief to millions of commuters, reducing severe gridlock in city roads. But in fact, the million Taka projects [DEMU and Waterbus] have now become a vexing issue for the commuters while the authorities have also been facing huge loss as the number of passengers in both
services is reducing day by day.
The waterbus service was launched in August last year in the circular waterway around the capital city with two vessels – Turag and Buriganga – to ferry passengers on Sadarghat-Swarighat-Kholamura-Gabtali riverine route.
Official sources said the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation [BIWTC] is now facing loss of Tk 10 lakh per month since its operation eight months ago.
At the same time, the private operator named Buriganga Floating has also expressed its unwillingness to run the waterbus project. The BIWTC awarded the project to Buriganga Floating in February but the private operator has returned the waterbuses just within one month of its operation.
Sources said, the operating cost of each waterbus on the Sadarghat- Gabtoli route per month is Tk 8,000. But it earns only Tk 1,000 due to scaracity of passengers. The conditions of other water routes are also the same as none shows interest to avail the service due to stink water of the rivers, disruption of schedule and huge sound of engines.
“The private operators are not interested to run the service due to huge loss. So, we have cancelled lease with them. However, we are not stopping the waterbus service. WE will run this operation under our own capacity,” said Majibur Rahman, Chiarman of BIWTC.
The BIWTC has already pressed six waterbuses, including four new ones, into services on the Dhaka circular waterway; it has now also planned to add six new waterbuses despite huge loss, according to sources.
On the other hand, the DEMU train service was started in the country in September last year and 10 DEMU trains at a cost of Tk 662 crore have been included in the fleet of Bangladesh Railway [BR], in the meantime.
In the first phase, two commuter DEMUs started plying between Dhaka and Narayangan and later the service was expanded in some other routes viz Dhaka-Joydevpur, Dhaka-Comilla, Chittagong-Chandpur and Chittagong- Noakhali.
The BR also planned to introduce DEMU service on Chittagong-Nazirhat ,Chittagong-Feni, and Chittagong-Dohazari, Dinajpur -Parbatipur – Rangpur and Lalmonirhat -Parbatipur – Saidpur routes.
Now seeing no bright future, the BR authority has abandoned its earlier plan to import 10 more DEMU trains at a cost of additional Tk 662 crore from China. As an alternative, the BR is going to procure a dozen of passenger coaches from India under a bilateral contact to replace the DEMUs, the officials added.
Several passengers have alleged that the DEMU service is totally unrealistic as it does not maintain schedule and its condition is totally uncomfortable. “We suffer suffocation problem inside the train as there is no window. Especially, it becomes deadly in the summer season. There is no air cooler or any fan,” Md Rafiqul Alam, a passenger of Dhaka-Naraynganj route said.
Another passenger Shovan Saha of Dhaka-Joydevpur route said, “The train never runs as per schedule. It is always late. There is also no toilet for the passengers.
Director General of BR, Tofazzel Hossain, however, refrained from making any comment despite repeated attempts yesterday night.
Two ambitious projects of Shipping and Railway ministries – waterbus service in riverine routes and DEMU [Diesel Electric Multiple Unit] train service – have failed to meet the commuters’ demand due to unrealistic approach of concerned authorities.
Both the services were introduced to give relief to millions of commuters, reducing severe gridlock in city roads. But in fact, the million Taka projects [DEMU and Waterbus] have now become a vexing issue for the commuters while the authorities have also been facing huge loss as the number of passengers in both
services is reducing day by day.
The waterbus service was launched in August last year in the circular waterway around the capital city with two vessels – Turag and Buriganga – to ferry passengers on Sadarghat-Swarighat-Kholamura-Gabtali riverine route.
Official sources said the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation [BIWTC] is now facing loss of Tk 10 lakh per month since its operation eight months ago.
At the same time, the private operator named Buriganga Floating has also expressed its unwillingness to run the waterbus project. The BIWTC awarded the project to Buriganga Floating in February but the private operator has returned the waterbuses just within one month of its operation.
Sources said, the operating cost of each waterbus on the Sadarghat- Gabtoli route per month is Tk 8,000. But it earns only Tk 1,000 due to scaracity of passengers. The conditions of other water routes are also the same as none shows interest to avail the service due to stink water of the rivers, disruption of schedule and huge sound of engines.
“The private operators are not interested to run the service due to huge loss. So, we have cancelled lease with them. However, we are not stopping the waterbus service. WE will run this operation under our own capacity,” said Majibur Rahman, Chiarman of BIWTC.
The BIWTC has already pressed six waterbuses, including four new ones, into services on the Dhaka circular waterway; it has now also planned to add six new waterbuses despite huge loss, according to sources.
On the other hand, the DEMU train service was started in the country in September last year and 10 DEMU trains at a cost of Tk 662 crore have been included in the fleet of Bangladesh Railway [BR], in the meantime.
In the first phase, two commuter DEMUs started plying between Dhaka and Narayangan and later the service was expanded in some other routes viz Dhaka-Joydevpur, Dhaka-Comilla, Chittagong-Chandpur and Chittagong- Noakhali.
The BR also planned to introduce DEMU service on Chittagong-Nazirhat ,Chittagong-Feni, and Chittagong-Dohazari, Dinajpur -Parbatipur – Rangpur and Lalmonirhat -Parbatipur – Saidpur routes.
Now seeing no bright future, the BR authority has abandoned its earlier plan to import 10 more DEMU trains at a cost of additional Tk 662 crore from China. As an alternative, the BR is going to procure a dozen of passenger coaches from India under a bilateral contact to replace the DEMUs, the officials added.
Several passengers have alleged that the DEMU service is totally unrealistic as it does not maintain schedule and its condition is totally uncomfortable. “We suffer suffocation problem inside the train as there is no window. Especially, it becomes deadly in the summer season. There is no air cooler or any fan,” Md Rafiqul Alam, a passenger of Dhaka-Naraynganj route said.
Another passenger Shovan Saha of Dhaka-Joydevpur route said, “The train never runs as per schedule. It is always late. There is also no toilet for the passengers.
Director General of BR, Tofazzel Hossain, however, refrained from making any comment despite repeated attempts yesterday night.
