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The under-construction metro rail is facing space shortage for its elevated stations as adequate land beneath the facilities have not been acquired, sources said.
For lack of space, they said, the movement of passengers of Mass Rapid Transit line-06 (MRT-06) and footpath users would be hampered severely.
Passengers getting onto the trains and getting off at all the 16 stations is also likely to create a chaotic traffic situation. Sources said consultants earlier recommended land acquisition around the stations to set up escalator, lift and parking facility, even for private vehicles.
But Dhaka Mass Transit Company (DMTC), the wholly-owned state entity to build, operate and maintain MRT lines, rejected it at the design stage to avoid complications.
The MRT Act 2015, however, has given DMTC all rights to acquire necessary land to smoothly operate the mass transit system.
Experts said this lapse in the design of the MRT-06 stations is because of not considering transit-oriented development (TOD) during the planning stage.
TOD helps a metro operator to earn extras by providing services like station plaza and parking space for private cars, cycles and motorcycles at different stations.
DMTC sources said there were ‘verbal restrictions’ to skip land acquisition issue at the planning stage as it involved complexities.
Sources at Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA), which studied and designed
MRT-06, made the same observations.
Being the first MRT, the focus was given more on finding feasible route with scope to establish stations and not on peripheral facilities.
DMTC managing director MAN Siddique, however, said they are trying to fix these problems step by step.
A station plaza has been planned at the Uttara end by taking a portion of the construction yard, he added.
Mr Siddique said DMTC is trying to integrate interchanges and intersections with different facilities with other metro lines.
“We’ll proceed (with these things) phase by phase,” he told the FE at his office.
Meanwhile, DMTC has sought permission from road transport and bridges ministry to acquire 0.35 acres of land at Uttara North station to provide parking space for personal vehicles.
Sources said the consultants have started redesigning some stations taking a good portion of road land.
Mirpur-11 station will take space of the road to widen footpaths. This is to keep provision of walking for both MRT passengers and footpath users.
Some space is also considered for picking and dropping vehicles.
Though DMTC is trying to manage TOD at its Uttara end by taking construction yard after completion of MRT-06, problems at Motijheel end is yet to be resolved.
MRT-06 from Uttara third phase to Motijheel Shapla crossing is being built with technical and financial support from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The DMTC authority and consultants are still to find a solution to link MRT-06 with other lines through interchanges and intersections.
MRT line-01 and line-05 are considering including TOD.
(FE)
