Public transport fares may return to pre-pandemic rate

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Tuesday said the government is considering resuming pre-pandemic rate of public transport fares.

“A decision would be taken soon to this end,” the minister said while addressing a view-exchange meeting through a videoconference from his official residence in Dhaka, reports BSS.

The view-exchange meeting was held with officials of Cumilla Road Zone, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC).

Stressing the need for ensuring quality in road construction, he said the slow pace of land acquisition delays the project implementation in many cases.

The road transport and bridges minister directed the authorities concerned to increase the supervision in construction of roads and highways.

Terming the Dhaka-Chittagong highway a lifeline of the country’s economy, he said now there is no traffic congestion on this highway after the construction of second Kanchpur, Meghna and Gomati bridges.

“There is a lack of cleanliness and that is why the highway from Jatrabari to Kanchpur should be remained clean,” the minister said.

He expressed dissatisfaction over the slow pace in upgrading the highway from Comilla to Begumganj into four-lane.

Resolving the complexities in land acquisition, the works of Feni- Chowmuhani and Chowmuhani-Sonapur Four-Lane projects should be completed soon, the minister added.

Secretary of the Road Transport and Highways Division Md Nazrul Islam, Chief Engineer of the Department of Roads and Highways Md Shahriar Hossain and Additional Chief Engineer of Cumilla Road Zone Shawkat, among others, joined the view-exchange meeting.