It has been a decade since the government conceived a plan to shift Dhaka’s four inter-district bus terminals to new locations to ease traffic congestions in the capital city’s entrances, but it has made little headway since then. Dhaka, the national capital which is already under pressure of heavy infrastructures, suffers from more traffic congestion than anywhere else in Bangladesh as most of its bus stops and terminals are located in its heart. In a city like Dhaka, bus terminals have to handle huge passenger transfers every day without offering any facility that can ensure the safety and comfort of passengers. According to experts, there are huge advantages in relocating terminals to areas away from the city centre with multimodal connectivity taking those closer to the under-construction metro-rail system which could speed up both trips and ensure passenger safety. A report on the feasibility of the much-sought plan to relocate the four bus terminals will take at least another three months to be finalized though there have been a few visits by the city mayors and government officials to the proposed sites. READ: Homebound people flock at launch and bus terminals dreading ‘lockdown’ The Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) will look after the relocation of four inter-district bus terminals at Gabtoli Mohakhali, Sayedabad and Fulbaria. Though the government had taken the plan in 2010, the work is yet to start for unknown reasons, sources at DTCA said. At least 8,000 buses that run daily between the capital city and other districts use the four terminals. Since they are now inside the city, traffic congestions even during the night are common. According to the decision, the Gabtoli terminal will be shifted to Savar, Mohakhali terminal to Tongi in Gazipur, Sayedabad terminal to Kanchpur and Fulbaria and Babubazar terminals to Keraniganj. On completion of relocation of the four bus-terminals, new intra-city bus terminals will be established at Gabtoli, Mohakhali, Sayedabad, Fulbaria, Mirpur Section-12, Basila of Mohammadpur and Sadarghat for the buses plying on the city streets. Additional Executive Director (AED) of the DTCA Engineer Rabiul Islam told UNB that the technical committee of the DTCA has proposed at least 10 sites for building new terminals and bus depots as part of the much-talked-about bus route rationalisation move. READ: 200 transport workers facing shutdown miseries at Jashore bus terminal The proposed sites, which are located on the entry points of the capital, included Batulia, Hemayetpur, Madanpur, Baipail, Bhulta, Kanchpur, Teghoria and Boro Monohoria of Keraniganj, Gazipur Chowrasta and Jhilmil. Mayors of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC)-- Atiqul Islam and Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh respectively have already visited four selected spots- Batulia at Uttara near metro depot, Hemayetpur of Savar, Teghoria of Keraniganj and Kanchpur—several months back. Sources at the DTCA said Batulia site has been selected for the buses, which will come from Tangail, Mymensingh, Sirajganj, Pabna, Bogura, Natore, Rajshahi. Kanchpur site was selected for inter-district buses coming from Chattogram, Feni, Noakhali, Cumilla, Khagrachhari, Rangamati, Bandarban and Cox's Bazar. Hemayetpur has been selected for the buses coming from Manikganj, Faridpur, Gopalganj, and some northern and southern districts and Teghoria is selected for the buses from Shariatpur, Madaripur and all the districts under Barishal division. Rabiul Islam said the feasibility study report (FSR) for the relocation of the enter-district bus terminals is almost finalized and is being scrutinizing by the concerned authorities. Replying to a question, he said it may take 2-3 more months to finalize the FSR. After completion of the FSR, the relocation of bus terminals would be implemented through an investment project, he said. READ: Corona scare: Railway stations, launch and bus terminals left deserted Sources at the DTCA said the first inter-district bus terminal was established at Fulbaria near Gulistan in 1984. Later, the three other inter-district bus terminals were established at Gabtoli, Sayedabad and Mohakhali due to the expansion of the capital.

Homebound people have started swarming into cities' launch and bus terminals as the announcement of countrywide lockdown came on Saturday.   On Saturday morning, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said the government is set to announce a seven-day lockdown from Monday to stem the spread of coronavirus. Since the declaration, people are dreading the suspension of all public transportation across the country and crowding at the bus and launch terminals. Railways Minister MD Nurul Islam Sujan said passenger train services will remain suspended across the country during the countrywide lockdown period. Joynal Abedin, joint director for Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) told UNB no announcement of suspending launch services has been made. Also read: Govt to enforce 7-day lockdown from Monday: Quader Yet dreading the upcoming suspension number of homebound people at the terminals has increased from this afternoon, said BIWTA’s joint director. Sales manager of Hanif Paribahan bus service’s Kallyanpur counter, Nahid Hasan said bus counters were already packed with passengers as the bus owners were carrying 50 percent less passengers according to the Government’s order from Wednesday. As the declaration of lockdown came today the crowd of passengers increased more, he said. Unique bus service’s Gabtali counter man Sulaiman said, passengers are frightened about being stuck hence they are flocking at the ticket counters to leave the city within a day or two. Covid-19 situation in Bangladesh Amid an alarming surge in Covid-19 cases, Bangladesh recorded 5,683 fresh cases and 58 deaths in the last 24 hours until Saturday. Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh sees 5,638 cases, 58 more deaths The infection rate slightly fell to 23.15 percent from 23.28 percent on Friday when the country recorded 6,830 cases, the highest since the beginning of the pandemic. Bangladesh has so far recorded 630,277 coronavirus cases, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). During the 24-hour period until Saturday morning, 2,364 patients recovered, taking the number of recoveries to 549,775. Meanwhile, the fatalities rose to 9,213 with the new deaths.