Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader
FDC ramp of Dhaka Elevated Expressway opens to traffic, Quader calls it ‘PM’s Eid gift’
The exit ramp of Dhaka Elevated Expressway's Karwan Bazar section, in front of FDC, opened to traffic on Wednesday (March 20, 2024).
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader formally opened the ramp in the morning.
With this, 16 ramps of the Elevated Expressway have been opened so far.
On September 3 last year, the 11.5 km Airport-Farmgate stretch of Dhaka Elevated Expressway was opened to traffic and today the FDC gate ramp was opened. “This is an Eid gift from the Prime Minister for the people,” Quader said.
“We will be able to fully open it by the beginning of next year. Hatirjheel ramp will be opened and progress is on following that direction,” he added.
Onion prices fall by Tk30 per kg as seasonal supply rises in market
Asked about the increased traffic congestion in Dhaka during the month of Ramadan, the minister said, “People go to shopping malls during Ramadan and there will be some traffic jam. However, there is no traffic jam from Uttara to Motijheel. People can easily reach their destinations.”
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on September 2, 2023 inaugurated the Airport-Farmgate segment of Dhaka Elevated Expressway.
The total length of the expressway is 19.73 km and people can enter and exit the expressway through ramps in 31 points.
The project director said 72.51 percent work of the expressway has been completed and the work at Hatirjheel and Panthakunja points is underway.
2 killed in separate accidents in Sylhet and Chandpur
The Dhaka Elevated Expressway project was undertaken in 2011. On December 15, 2013, Bangladesh Bridge Authority signed a revised agreement with First Dhaka Elevated Expressway Company Limited, the investment company of the project.
Quader provides update on Metro Rail extension till Tongi
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader has said a survey is underway for extension of Dhaka Metro Rail from Uttara to Tongi.
He said this after inaugurating the Bangabandhu Corner at the DMTCL Building in Uttara’s Diabari.
The minister said the construction work of metro rail’s Motijheel to Kamalapur part will be completed by June next year.
With Karwan Bazar and Shahbagh Stations opening today, Dhaka Metro Rail ends 2023 with a milestone
A decision will be taken after discussion on extending service hours of metro rail on different days including Ijtema and Boi Mela, he said.
“From today, metro rail started operating from Uttara North to Motijheel from 7:10 am every day except Friday and the last train from Motijheel will leave for Uttara North at 8:40 pm,” he said.
The headway during peak hours will be 10 minutes and during off-peak hours it will be 12 minutes.
Metro rail’s Karwan Bazar, Shahbagh stations to open Dec 31
“This afternoon, I will travel from Uttara North to Motijheel by metro rail. I also urge you to travel regularly on time-saving and environment-friendly metro rail,” the minister said.
“Maximum facilities for passengers will be ensured in metro rail. Six lines of the metro rail will be operational by 2030,” said the minister.
Dhaka Metro Rail extends service hours on Uttara-Motijheel route; here are the timings
Defeated forces resurrected to avenge: Obaidul Quader
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Wednesday said the defeated forces of 1971 are now active again to retaliate.
“The defeated forces of 1971 now want to take revenge and that’s why they have become active now,” he said while talking to reporters after paying tributes to the martyred intellectuals on the occasion of the Martyred Intellectuals Day.
Quader, General Secretary of the ruling Awami League, also urged the pro-liberation forces to resist all conspiracies by getting united.
Earlier on Wednesday, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid tributes to the martyred intellectuals.
Flanked by the party's central leaders, Hasina, also the President of Bangladesh Awami League, laid another wreath at the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial as the party chief.
Also read: Martyred Intellectuals Day: President, PM pay tribute to 1971 heroes
Awami League presidium members Begum Matia Chowdhury, Abdur Razzaque, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Abdur Rahman, Shahjahan Khan, joint secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif MP, AFM Bahauddin Nasim and organising secretary Ahmed Hossain, among others, were present there. On the night of December 14, 1971, over 200 intellectuals including educationists, journalists, litterateurs, writers, physicians, scientists, lawyers, artists, philosophers and political thinkers had been picked up in Dhaka by the Pakistani occupation forces, aided by their local collaborators.
The intellectuals were taken blindfold to torture cells in Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Nakhalpara, Rajarbagh and other locations in different parts of the city and later executed en masse at different killing grounds, most notably Rayerbazar and Mirpur.
Since then, the day has been observed as the Martyred Intellectuals Day.
People make their journey easily due to opening of Padma Bridge: Obaidul
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Tuesday blamed the traffic gridlock on highways ahead of Eid-ul-Azha on the “faulty management and lack of coordination” but not on the condition of roads.
He was talking to reporters at the Secretariat as offices reopened on Tuesday after four days of Eid vacation.
Quader claimed that the road situation across the country was better this time.
“There was no traffic tailback on the road in this year. Though some reports of tailbacks were received, that happened due to faulty management and lack of coordination. The crisis was seen in Northern parts of the country, Quader said.
He said the pre-Eid opening of Padma Bridge made smooth the travel to the southern region.
He defended the ban on the movement of motorbikes on the highways saying it was necessary to prevent accidents.
Read: Padma Bridge starts by raking in over Tk 1 million an hour
The minister hoped that the Dhaka Metro Rail will be launched by end of December this year and the Dhaka Elevated Express Way by end of next year.
Russia-Ukraine war triggers hike in edible oil price: Quader
The price of soybean oil has been increased in Bangladesh on grounds of rise in the global market as a fall-out of Russia’s war with Ukraine, said Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Friday.
The minister made this remark while talking to the reporters during inspection of a project to develop Dhaka-Narayanganj road to six lanes in the Signboard area of Narayanganj.
Also read: Govt approves fresh hike in edible oil price effective Friday
The minister said, “Prices of everything including oil and fuel are rising all over the world following the war.”
“Bangladesh is not an isolated place, so war’s effect will be everywhere.”
However, Quader said, "People will not suffer because Sheikh Hasina is a crisis manager. She used her foresight to save the country even during the Covid pandemic. Our Prime Minister has the courage and integrity to deal with it.”
Subways to be built in Dhaka to ease traffic jams: Obaidul
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Tuesday stressed the need for building subways to free Dhaka from traffic congestion.
The government has taken up a project to construct subways in Dhaka city and a draft of the project titled ‘Feasibility study for the construction of the subway in Dhaka city' has been prepared, he said.
Read:Dhaka commuters endure awful traffic jam for 2nd day
Obaidul said this at a seminar held to elicit opinion on the project at a hotel in the city.
Drawing the attention of the two Dhaka city mayors who were present at the seminar, the minister said “Dhaka is a city of pollution and to make Dhaka a livable city new plans are needed.”
Talking about the planned subways, TYPSA, an advisory firm of Spain proposed 11 route alignments for the 238-km long Dhaka Subway network. Of the total the government has a plan to construct 105-km long four routes by 2030, Obaidul said.
Four routes are---
- 34.92km route stretching from Jhilmil via Tongi Junction route with 24 stations. The approximate expenditure of each km route is estimated at Tk 2,388 crore.
- 22.89km route stretching from Gabtoli via Bholabo union with 14 stations. The expenditure cost of each km is estimated at Tk 2,158 crore.
- 25.22 km from Keraniganj via Sonapur union with 15 stations. The total expenditure cost of each km is estimated at Tk 2,217 crore.
- 45.11 km long route from Jahangirnagar University to Narayanganj route with 32 stations. Possible expenditure per km is estimated at Tk 2,312 crore.
There will be no barriers in the land acquisition process as the subways will be constructed 25-70 meter deep under the earth, he said adding “Half of the residents of Dhaka city can move through the subways while the top of the ground would be free from traffic jams.”
Meanwhile, a deal was signed between China Shandong International Economic &Technical Cooperation Group Ltd (CSI) and Bangladesh Bridge Authority for constructing a 6.5 km two-story expressway from Panchabati of Narayanganj to Muktarpur Bridge of Munshiganj district.
Read: Dhaka dwellers suffer amid unusual traffic gridlock
Secretary of Bridge Division Manjur Hossain was present there.
Project Director of road expansion and two-story expressway from Panchabati of Narayanganj to Muktarpur Bridge of Munshiganj district, Shafiqul Islam and Lyu Jin, a representative of the contractor firm signed the agreement, involving Tk 1200 crore on behalf of their respective field.
Murad’s recent remarks embarrassed party, govt: Information Minister
Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud has said both the government and Awami League felt embarrassed with the indecent remarks of State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murad Hassan who resigned on Tuesday.
“We’ve noticed some changes in Murad over the past few days and his recent remarks embarrassed both the government and the party. That’s why the Prime Minister has asked him to quit,” he said while talking to reporters at the Bangladesh Secretariat.
Gias Uddin, public relations officer of Murad, submitted his resignation letter to the Cabinet around 3 pm, he said.
Read:BNP now demands Murad’s arrest, punishment
Replying to a question, the minister said Murad is the Health Affairs secretary of Jamalpur district unit Awami League and they will decide whether Murad will remain there in his post or not. Replying to another question, Hasan said, “Murad made his remarks without any consultation with the party and the Prime Minister.”
Earlier in the day, Murad Hassan resigned as State Minister for Information and Broadcasting following the instruction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for his offensive and indecent remarks on women.
The under-fire junior minister submitted his resignation letter to the Prime Minister on Tuesday showing personal reasons for quitting his job.
Murad Hassan had been under increasing criticism by various quarters for his disrespectful remarks on women in an interview on social media. A number of audios and videos containing indecent remarks by Murad Hassan also went viral on social media during the last few days.
Read: Junior minister Murad Hassan quits at PM’s instruction
A two-year-old phone conversation of the junior minister with actor Mamnun Hasan Emon and actress Mahiya Mahi recently went viral on social media. In that audio clip, Murad made "derogatory comments" on the actress, threatened her and gave her an alleged indecent proposal.
On Monday, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked State Minister for Information Murad Hassan to resign from the cabinet by Tuesday for his recent derogatory remarks on social media.
Demanding his immediate resignation, women and rights bodies and political parties slammed Murad for the indecent remarks he made against women.
Next neutral national poll to be held on time: Quader
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Tuesday said the next parliamentary polls will be impartial to be held in due time as per the constitution.
“No matter who comes or not, the poll will not be delayed,” the minister said.
Read: Work for the people’s welfare, not for personal gain, Quader asks AL members
Quader came up with the remarks while talking to reporters after inspecting the construction work of the second bridge at Gabtali Aminbazar in the Aminbazar area of Savar on the Dhaka-Aricha Highway on Tuesday morning.
He further said that the government is ready to suppress any attempt of BNP to create chaos in the name of movement.
“Everyone knows the history of BNP. The BNP activists earlier had set fire to many cars, houses, land offices and other facilities. And so, they completely got alienated from people,” he said.
Read: No chance for fresh debate over caretaker govt: Quader
“So, there is no need to make evil attempts to make chaos unnecessarily centring the election,” the minister said.
Quader also warned that if any party creates any chaos in the name of movement in the country, it will be crushed with iron hands.
Senior officials of the Roads and Highways Department were present during the inspection.
Unfit vehicles in Bangladesh: the number without certificates soars to 4,81,029
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Tuesday said the number of vehicles without fitness certificates in Bangladesh is 4,81,029 as of December 2020.
Educational institutions likely to reopen in March: Quader
Road Transport and Bridges Minister and Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader has said the government may reopen the educational institutions in March, considering the situation upon consultation with experts.