Dhaka now ailing patient at ICU: Annisul

Dhaka north city mayor Annisul Huq on Sunday said that traffic congestion had turned the capital into an ailing patient at an intensive care unit.
‘It seems that the mayor is a quack doctor at the ICU to save that ailing patient,’ he said at a round table on ‘Traffic congestion in Dhaka: strategies and solutions’.
The discussion was organised by the Dhaka North City Corporation in association with Institute of Engineers Bangladesh, Bangladesh Planners Institute and Institute of Architects Bangladesh at Hotel Sarina.
‘I want to do some experiments as there is no time to waste for research,’ he said, adding that the traffic congestion would improve by March or April 2016.
Road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader urged the mayor to be courageous to implement his plans.
He said that to serve greater interest sometimes interest of some people had to be compromised.
Dhaka south city mayor Sayeed Khokon claimed that traffic congestion was less in the south city compared to than in the north city.
He said that water logging problem needed to be addressed immediately.
Bangladesh Road Transport Authority director (enforcement) Bijoy Bhushan Paul said that currently there were about three lakh cars amongst the 8.5 lakh registered motor vehicles.
He said that they had proposed ban on the use of compressed natural gas in cars to discourage people from buying and using cars.
Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association secretary general K Enayet Ullah said that if the government facilitated them with low interest loans, they would withdraw all existing buses from the city roads and replace them with new ones.
Then existing 136 bus companies might be merged into four or five companies making the system better, he added.
Architect Iqbal Habib said that most of the mass people could not afford journey by the proposed metro rail because of high fare rate.
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology civil engineering department professors Md Shamsul Hoque and Moazzem Hossain, Urban Habitat Ltd chairman Tanwir Nawaz and Dhaka Metropolitan Police additional commissioner for traffic Khandaker Golam Faruque delivered four presentations on the traffic situation of Dhaka making some recommendations.
The discussion was attended, among others, by state minister for local government, rural development and cooperatives Moshiur Rahman Ranga.

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