The Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) on Tuesday strongly protested the government's decision to “scrap the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project”, describing it as a "black day" in the history of sustainable, fuel-efficient and inclusive mass transit.
In a statement signed by its General Secretary Prof Md Moslehuddin Hasan, the organisation said it learned from newspaper reports that the government has decided to cancel the BRT project and dissolve the agency concerned.
It has also reportedly decided to convert the entire BRT infrastructure into a 3+3 lane highway.
BIP expressed "deep shock and sorrow" at the decision, saying the government has chosen the "latest and worst" option for the BRT at the last cabinet meeting.
The statement noted that the decision was not announced even at the regular post-meeting press briefing.
This, BIP said, has created ample room for speculation that some of those involved in the decision are trying to conceal something.
"We can clearly see a conflict of interest in this decision-making process," the statement said.
BIP said the decision clearly serves private vehicle users and the construction lobby active both at home and abroad.
It added that the move runs counter to the proposals of the Gazipur Transport Master Plan (GTMP) and the Revised Strategic Transport Plan (RSTP) for Dhaka.
The planners' body also said the decision ignores the expectations and travel needs of residents of Gazipur and Uttara, who have suffered hardship for 14 years because of the project's construction work.
BIP placed the six demands – withdrawing the decision to scrap the BRT project, forming a coordinated agency to manage the BRT, MRT and other related programmes, preparing a comprehensive BRT plan for the whole of Dhaka city and other metropolitan cities of the country, stopping project-based decision-making on transport infrastructure and adopting a plan-based approach, prioritising transport projects that save time and cost during implementation and serve more people, including women, short-distance commuters, persons with disabilities and people with limited mobility, and establishing the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) as the lead agency for any transport planning decision in the Greater Dhaka region and placing it directly under the Prime Minister's Office.