Page 85 - IBT Sept 2021 (1)

Transportation Industry A PATH TO
PROGRESS
metropolitan, and city governing bodies are operates almost five hundred stations across the country.
responsible for road and bridge sector However, though costlier to build and maintain, highways and
development while government agencies roads have been the preferred sectors by successive
dominate rail and water sectors. The absence of governments. Bangladesh has one of the densely built road
central coordination has resulted in costly, networks in the world. With its 21,302 kilometers long paved
unnecessary reversal and delays. and more unpaved network, roads have long replaced dying
river networks as the most preferred connection mode. More
Infrastructure development than 3.4 million vehicles plow these roads, along with
Road, Rail and Water transport numerous three-wheelers and other locally built motor and
paddle vehicles. The government has initiated major Projects
The British efforts to shape the historical under Bus Rapid Transit and Metro Rail projects. Four Lane
water-based transport practice in Bengal Expressway connecting Dhaka and major industrial centers of
introduced some of the major rail projects in Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Manikganj; 1.7 billion
the Indian subcontinent. The 1971 war left expressway in Sylhet-Dhaka region are some of the promising
most of the country’s road and river transport features. The brightest fit to step up Bangladesh’s road
systems in ruins. The government took major transport is the building of Padma Bridge. These projects cost
steps in the 1980s by reshaping administrative immensely, for example, the Dhaka-Gazipur connecting road
divisions. The introduction of union and costs more than 4,000 crores BDT and is already running
Upazilas meant major efforts were on the way behind schedule. The Padma Bridge cost more than 28
to penetrate rural areas. Upazila sadars were thousand crores BDT. The utility of these new projects is
connected with major highways, leading to the expected to be very high.
economic centers of Dhaka, Chittagong, and
Khulna. Port of Chittagong and Mongla were
already major sectors in this regard. Domestic The economic impact of road and
political strife halted the efforts largely in the transport sectors
late eighties to early nineties. Many projects The penetration of roads and modern facilities across the
were shelved, slowed down, or overran the cost country brought new economic opportunities to Bangladesh. It
and provided little to no result. The country has facilitated the growth of small vendors, roadside
saw the second round of major infrastructure businesses, and new marketplaces. The backbone of
development since the 2010s. A major port and Bangladesh's economy is its garment sector and industrial
road facilities are being taken all around. Since satellite cities circling Dhaka. Since the 1980s, Dhaka,
2006, ADB alone has loaned 6 billion USD for Narayangang, and Gazipur have become the main industrial
the transport network. hub, drawing millions across the country. Availability of cheap
The water flow of 24,000-kilometer-long river labor and an equal surge of entrepreneurs largely depends on
systems has been a problem since the road and transport network being built around Dhaka and
independence. Today 6,000 kilometers remain to some extent Chittagong and other cities. Around 8 million
navigational during monsoon; it reduces to MSME industries and large businesses are mostly dependent
3,900 kilometers by the dry season. The river on road networks. Roads have brought electricity and future
transport system is cheap and preferred by chances for pipeline borne gas, water facilities. The building of
many in the Southern regions. While many the highest road in Thanchi-Alikadam marked Bangladesh’s
rivers lost their water level and ceased to be significant attempt to connect backward hill regions and reap
operational by large boats; major routes of the benefits of tourism thanks to the scenic beauty of
Padma, Burigandha, or Meghna rivers are still Chittagong Hill Tracts.
used by vehicles more than a thousand tonnes. In 2021, the land and water transport sector added more than
The river transport also serves fuel to crucial 1.8 trillion BDT to Bangladesh's GDP. Almost 4 million people
offers its own sets of advantages which the Rampal power plant and export-import through are employed here. The dominating sector is road
successive governments have tried to utilize at Mongla and Payra port. Recently, the first-ever understandably, employing more than 80 percent of the
varying degrees. This five-decade-long journey is transboundary river shipment of export has transport sector.
mixed with impressive steps on connectivity and taken place through Khulna and Comilla to
A major rural hub is known for its rich agricultural transport, though chronic problems continue to India. International commerce
heritage, Bangladesh is a unique case given its high plague economic growth. Railway also had a reputation as the safe,
density of population and a success story of turning its However, Bangladesh is yet to develop cheap, and reliable transport sector.
war-ravaged impoverished form into yet another Asian specialized agencies responsible for the overall Bangladesh has a 2,900 route kilometer rail
success story. Much of the economic progress can be transport sector. The opening of a new railway network. In recent times new tracks and
traced to the country’s transport sector development. ministry in 2010 or other agencies has done little engines have been introduced to make the
Given its strategic position on the map, the delta republic to alleviate the problem. Local government, railway profitable. Bangladesh Railway
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with 80 percent of traffic, are mostly engaged
with India. Bangladesh has taken several
attempts to connect with the
Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar corridor and
Belt and Road Initiative,
Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) motor
vehicle agreement, and major projects
concerning these. The country is already
facilitating India’s connection with her
Northeast provinces, at the same time; transit
facilities are also helping Bangladeshi traders
to reach the Indian market.
Challenges
Though paved and unpaved roads are not a
dream anymore almost for most of the remote
corners, what Bangladesh suffers from is a
serious safety issue. Lack of training, proper
guidelines, and monitoring authorities,
corruption means the sole safety factor here
depends on the driver's skills. Institutional
standards are not maintained. Outdated
vehicles are a major concern too. Moreover,
most of the roads remain in poor conditions,
lack significant or long-lasting repair work, or
are just simply too narrow to support heavy
traffic. Roads are an expensive business in rules are frequent. This has led to a profit-driven private sector
Bangladesh. It’s arguably the most expensive too, disregarding public safety.
country to build roads, along with maintenance Frequent collisions and accidents are common in the water
and poor planning means frequent disturbance sector too. Only in the last 11 years, 387 vehicles have sunk,
for smooth operations. Bangladesh lacks any more than a hundred of them remain at the bottom of
specialized agency to overtake a coordinated channels. Government agencies are ill-equipped as their 4
approach in road infrastructure. Local rescue vehicles with a combined capacity of close to 700 tons
government and city development agencies are merely enough. Many river routes demand constant
overview the projects while there are frequent dredging while in many cases collisions between ships and
uncoordinated and ill-planned examples. bridges or accidents. Water flow remains a big problem and
Carelessness on the part of monitoring or demands constant dredging. Outdated vehicles are
planning authorities is abysmal. One example overwhelming in the 22,000 plus fleet using Bangladesh
suffices: The flyover in Dhaka’s waterways. Many of its 22 major ports remain underdeveloped
Moghbazar-Mouchak area had to go through and underutilized. For example, the station in Pangaon Inland
major delay and rebuilding as the previously Water Terminal, built with much hype and investment,
approved design wasn’t suitable with the remains mostly unused. River erosions and ill-planned river
Bangladesh road system. control projects also remain a problem. Another key issue is
In 2019 alone, 8,543 people lost their lives on environmental damage. This is particularly in the case of
roads, along with 14,000 plus injuries. Sundarbans where oil, coal, and cement carrying ships have
Bangladesh roads remain one of the deadliest sunk frequently to make things worse. The government agency
to travel in the world. Student and public BIWTC is yet to achieve high standards suiting the river
protests resulted in the 2018 Road Safety Acts transport system.
but the details are yet to be implemented. Transport service lags well over international standards.
Railway also suffers the problem of Almost three-fourths of Bangladesh’s forty thousand plus
Three major international airports and several regional ones obsoleteness. 78 or more than one-third of busses operate in and around Dhaka. Syndicates and
serve national-international passengers but the high ticket engines of its inventory are outdated or monopolistic behaviors from the transport owner’s part have
price and short distance made airlines available to limited demand much costly, constant repair jobs. As often resulted in clashes and poor service too. Constant hassle
users. The port of Chittagong serves 92% of Bangladesh’s rail and water transports are heavily dependent in the means of the ticket price, traffic congestion, and lack of
export trade, while four major land ports, including Benapole on the government, corruption and violation of monitoring bodies hamper public comfort and safety.