The operations of Mirpur-10 metro rail station will begin Tuesday (15 October), after two months and 27 days of stopping the service.
Mohammad Abdur Rauf, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), the company that operates metro rail, disclosed this at a media conference at metro rail depot in the capital’s Uttara Monday.
Earlier, the Kazipara came into regular operation on 20 September.
Adviser to the road transport ministry, Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, will visit the Mirpur-10 metro station around 10:00 am Tuesday, the ministry said.
It was told in the media conference that the authorities decided to resume operations of Kazipara and Mirpur-10 metro stations that were damaged during the quota reform movement with equipment available at the local market. As a result, it was possible to resume regular activities at the two stations. Later, other relatively less necessary equipment and goods will be collected and the renovation works will be completed.
Relevant officials said the functions of the automated gates, ticket vending machines, electronic boards that show train’s arrival time and public announcement system were checked. As everything worked properly, the authorities decided to resume the operations of the station.
During the quota reform movement on 18 July, the police box at Mirpur-10 roundabout was set on fire. Around 5:00 pm that day, DMTCL shut the operations of metro rail. On the next day, Mirpur-10 and Kazipara metro stations were vandalised.
Visiting the stations on 20 July, the then DMTCL managing director MAN Siddique said, “It might take nearly one year to resume the operations of the two damaged stations after renovation.”
Later, on 27 July, the then road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader, however, told the media, “Kazipara and Mirpur-10 metro stations are destroyed. Experts have said that it won’t be possible to resume their operations in one year even after importing necessary equipment.”
After the change in government, Kazipara station was resumed in two months and the Mirpur-10 station is set to resume operation within less than three months.
DMTCL sources said the previous government estimated Tk 3.5 billion for the renovation of the two stations. But it cost a little more than Tk 2.02 million for renovation of Kazipara station while the cost for Mirpur-10 has not been disclosed so far.
The sources, however, said the cost was not much.
DMTCL sources said the ticket vending machines and automated gates from relatively less busy Uttara Centre, Uttara South and Bijoy Sarani stations have been installed at Mirpur-10.
Besides, there were eight gates at the museum at the metro rail depot in Uttara. Those have also been installed at Mirpur-10 station.
Later, the vending machines and gates will be imported and installed there. But the cost would not be what the previous government estimated, the source added.