Steps underway to reduce metrorail movement interval: Quader

Road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader Monday said steps are underway to reduce the interval period in movements of metrorail in view of growing commuters’ dependence on its service.

Talking to newspersons at his office, Quader said the coach numbers could not be increased due to technical reasons but the steps were taken to run a train in every eight-minute instead of current frequency of 10 minutes.

Quader, also general secretary of governing Bangladesh Awami League, said increasing the number of metro coaches depends on technical issues.

There is no metrorail having more than five coaches anywhere in the world but the metrorail in Bangladesh has already been running with six compartments, he stated.

But, the transport minister said, due to the increased demand, work is going on whether the interval period between the movements of two metrorail could be reduced to 8 minutes from existing 10 minutes.

Speaking about the leaflet distribution programme of key opposition, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), he said the party’s politics is diving deep into the ditch. “Earlier, it was on the edge of the ditch but now it is going deep into the ditch,” he added.

Terming BNP a major political party till now, Quader said they (BNP men) are inactive and making mistakes while they have stuck in the quicksand of wrong politics.

Asked about whether 13 BNP leaders and activists died in jail, he said, “Where and how did they die? Which prison or in custody? Throwing stones in the dark will not make it happen.”

Referring to the soaring prices of essential goods, the AL general secretary said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has already directed the authorities concerned to take effective steps to curb the price hike. “But the market cannot be controlled overnight. Many things depend on the global situation. The government is working to this end considering public interest.”

Replying to a question about the scope of expansion of the current cabinet Quader said the prime minister could say this but the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Ministry of Culture may have ministers in the future.

Earlier in the morning, Russian ambassador to Bangladesh Alexander Mantytskiy paid a courtesy call on road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader at the Secretariat.

Later, the envoy told newspersons that they discussed the issues related to Bangladesh’s infrastructure, energy, agriculture, roads and bridges.