Create underground services to ease congestion

It is incomprehensible that such a big city like Dhaka (not in terms of size but in terms of population) does not have an extensive public transportation system. It's virtually a nightmare to commute and it's getting worse day by day.

It is true that introduction of public buses on some of the major routes of the city has brought some respite for many ordinary commuters. But the number of buses isn't enough to cope with increasing demand. With ever-increasing traffic jam, it has not been much of a help either in getting to the desired location in time. Everyone feels the need of a mass transit system like the underground rail service that our neighboring city, Kolkata, has. If a city like Kolkata can have it, why can't we? Is it really impossible for us to build an underground rail network in Dhaka?

Our Communication Minister, perhaps in his bid to create media hype, presented before us the proposal of developing high-speed maglev train link between Dhaka and Chittagong. Besides experts' concern about unproven technology or high costs, the question that comes to my mind is, are we really in need of such high-speed link with Chittagong when we have to move at a snail pace within Dhaka city during most important time of the day? Isn't it more important to be able to move with a little more speed within Dhaka rather than reaching Chittagong in an hour? I have a dream of finding my beloved city free from the curse of traffic jam next time I am in Dhaka! But I am afraid, like many of my other dreams, this one will not come true in the near future!