The Dhaka Elevated Expressway will not be reopened soon due to the massive damage caused to its two toll plazas during the violence over the students’ quota movement, official sources said.
“The expressway won’t be reopened soon as its two toll plazas have completely been damaged. We’ll take measures to reopen the expressway after talking with the foreign investors,” Bridges Division chief engineer Quazi Mohammad Ferdous told the Bangladesh Post.
About 10 lakh vehicles ply a portion of about 11.05 kilometre of the elevated expressway, being built under a public private partnership (PPP), on an average every month. Out of the 13 toll plazas of the expressway, two —- one at Banani and another at Mohakhali—-have been destroyed in arson attack during the deadly clashes between the law enforcers and miscreants.
The government undertook the Dhaka Elevated Expressway project in January 2011 with a view to easing the nagging traffic congestion in the capital.
A seven-member probe committee, headed by additional secretary Rashidul Hassan, has been formed to estimate the loss resulting from the damage to the two toll plazas.
The committee has been asked to submit its report within 10 working days with recommendations whether there is any need to procure new equipment for rebuilding the two toll plazas. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated 11.05
kilomtere portion of the elevated expressway, stretching from Airport to Farmgate in the capital in September last year.
Sources at the Bridges Division say that the government will reopen the expressway after reinstalling its whole e-system with the two damaged toll plazas where tolls will be collected manually.
Project Director AHM Shakhawat Akter told the Bangladesh Post that it will take some time to repair the two damaged toll plazas.
“We are trying our best to reopen the expressway as the 11 toll plazas out 13 are in operation. Tolls will collected at the two damaged plazas manually after reopenining of the expressway,” he added.
The authorities concerned fixed Tk 80 in toll for car, taxi, jeep, SUV, microbus (below 16 seats) and light truck (below three tonnes) while Tk 320 for a medium-sized truck (up to six wheels), Tk 400 for truck (with over six wheels) and Tk 160 for all types of buses (16 seats and above) for using the expressway.
The much-talked about Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project has also been halted as 24 escalators of the project have been damaged in arson attack by miscreants during the mayhem.
Officials of the project say that the project may be delayed due to the damage to the escalators.
Earlier, the tenure of the BRT project involving Tk 4,268 crore was extended thrice, since its launch in 2012.
As the government opened public and private offices after a three-day general holidays, officials and employees of the BRTA and Bridges Division are carrying out their duty by setting up tents on the premises.
Miscreants set the BRTA headquarters on fire that burnt furniture, dozens of vehicles and important documents.
BRTA chairman Gautam Chandra Pal told the Bangladesh that they were discharging their official duty setting up tents as the BRTA headquarters and its office at Mirpur have been completely destroyed.
Bridges Division secretary Monjur Hossain said that they held a meeting under the tent to assess the losses.
“We will continue to discharge our duties from here until the repair of the main office,” he added.
