Documentary

on

Road Transportand Highways Division

Obiram Pathchala (An Endless

Journey)
Narration

Independent and Sovereign Bangladesh adorned by Red

and Green-National insignia.

(Part of the historic address of Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman on 7 March, 1971: the struggle this

time is the struggle for our liberation; the struggle this

time is the struggle for our independence)

Bangladesh attained independence on 26 March 1971 as

the culmination of decades of struggle for freedom and

statehood under the inspiring and resolute leadership of

the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman. At his call, the Bengali people rose in resistance

against the occupation army of Pakistan and waged an

epic war for the liberation of this land. The nine-month

long war ended in victory for the Bengalis over the

Pakistan Army on 16 December 1971, which cost three

million martyrs and the dignity of two lacs of our mothers

and sisters.
Our beloved motherland Bangladesh, profusely washed

by the flow of the Meghna and the Jamuna, is a land of

immense natural beauty. It has the legacy of affluent

culture of thousands of years. The greatest and unique

mangrove forest- Sunderbans, and the longest sandy sea-

beach of Coxs Bazar have added to supreme beauty of

Bangladesh. Moreover, numerous archaeological

resources are carrying the glorious/majestic history of

Bangladesh.

Having earned the independence, the Government led by

the Father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman, paid heed to the severely war-damaged road

networks and eventually had them rebuilt in a brief span

of time to ensure the convenient movement of the

vehicles. After that, having won the election of 1996 with

a flying color, Sheikh Hasina, the worthy daughter of

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibor Rahman, took the

overwhelming task of making her fathers dream in to

reality.
After winning the election in 2008 for the second time,

she shouldered the responsibility of leading the country

again and gave priority to developing the road

infrastructure. This time, a huge improvement of road

infrastructure was distinctively visible.

On her third term of governing the country in 2014 the

pace of development successfully retained and further

accelerated. It was possible due to the successive

government. Under her dynamic leadership Bangladesh

was successfully graduated from the low to the lower

middle-income countrys status. Now Bangladeshs all-out

efforts and ethos is to achieve the higher-middle income

status by 2021. And it also aimed at to be developed

countrys prestigious status by the year 2041. The Road

Transport and Highways Division is persistently pursuing

that commitment by further fortifying the road

communication infrastructure.
The Vision of Road Transport and Highways Division:

Sustainable Highways Network & Safer Road

Transport System

Mission:
The mission of Road Transport and Highways Division is

to develop a sustainable, safe and integrated Road

Transport System aiming at fostering the pace of peoples

socio-economic development through repair, maintenance,

development and expansion of highway infrastructure.

Departments, Departments, Authorities and Agencies

under the Road Transport and Highway Division:

1) Roads & Highways (R&H) Department ;

2) Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA)

3) Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA)

4) Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC)

There is a huge and integrated highway network in the

country comprising as long as 21 thousand and 302

kilometer of highways encapsulating national, regional

and district-level highways. In the FY 2015-16, the

contribution of the land transport sector to GDP is 7.21

percent and growth rate is 6.55 percent. National Integrity

Strategy (NIS) and Annual Performance Agreement

(APA) are being implemented aiming to build Sonar

Bangla. (golden/affluent Bangladesh)

Roads & Highways Department:

The Roads & Highway Department is working

relentlessly for highway network maintenance, repair,

development and expansion. This Department has

successfully implemented 197 projects during last seven

and half years. In continuation to the pace of the

development, 221new Projects have been taken. During

the same period, as long as 369 kilometers of national

highways have been upgraded to 4 Lane or above.

Moreover, development of 328 kilometers of highways to

4-lane along with the separate service lanes are going on.

As many as 651 bridges and 2815 culverts have either

been constructed or rebuilt. Massive development has

been made for 41 ferry-services within road transport

network. Overloading is gradually on the decrease as axle

load control system has been upgraded over time. The

existing Highway Network at present is better than any

period in the past.

Honorable President Mohammad Abdul Hamid

inaugurated the Itna-Mithamsin Astogram Highway in

April, 2016.

Keeping in tune with the overall development of the

country, especially in orderto reduce accidents and traffic

congesting a record length of highways of 369 kilometer

has already been elevated to 4-lane or above. Out of this,

the Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has

inaugurated the expansions of Jatrabari-Kanchpur to 8-

Lane; Dhaka Chittagong, Dhaka-Mymensing and Nabi

Nagar-Chandra Segment to 4-Lane; Panchagar-Tetulia-

Banglabandha and Gournadi-Agailjhara-Paisarhat-

Kotalipara-Gopalganj highway segments to 2-Lane

broadways.
In order To save time and ensure uninterrupted traffic
flow the Honorable prime Minister was kind of dedicating
her valuable time in inaugurating the following projects
among the 651 bridges during the last 7 and half years:

1390 meter Shahid Abdur Rob Serniabat bridge on

kirtonkhola; 1072 meter Shahid Sultana Kamal Bridge on

Shitalakhya; 980 meter Shah Amanot Bridge on karnafuli

in Chittagong; 893 meter Shahid Sheikh Kamal Bridge on

Andharmanik river in potuakhali, 484 meter Shahid

Sheikh Jamal Bridge on Sonatola river; 408 meter Shahid

Sheikh Russel Bridge on Khapradanga river; 750 meter

Teesta Bridge in Rangpur; 708 meter Shahid Budhijibi

setu on Buriganga; 694 meter Shohid Asmat Ali khan 7th

Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge on Arialkhan river

in Madaripur; 515 meter Elasin Bridge on Dholeswari

river in Tangail; 403 meter Abdu Zahur Bridge on surma

river in sunamganj; 392 meter Sheikh Lutfor Rahman

Bridge on Modhumati river in Gopalganj; 391-Meter

Kazir Bazar Bridge on Surma river in Sylhet and 303-

Mether Dr. M.A. Wazed Mia Setu on Baleswar river in

Pirojpur.

During his visit to inspect the development work in the

Highways, Minister of Road Transport and Bridges

Obaidul Quader let the bridges opened for traffic after

inaugurating the projects.

To reduce congestions road and rail crossings, 1793 meter

long President Zillur Rahman Flyovers, 1420 meter long

Chittagong port Link Flyover, 900 meter long Maona

Flyover, 804 meter long Banani Railway overpass, 804

meter long Banani Railway overpass and 550 meter

Ahsanullah Master Flyover over Tongi Railway Crossing

were constructed and Prime Minister inaugurated them in

different times.
Few more major bridges and approach roads are under

construction to fill in the missing links between roads and

waterway networks. Among them notable projects being

implemented by the present Government are: 1470-meter

long 4-Lane Bridge on the river Payra along the Barisal-

Potuakhali Highway; 4-Lane Kalna Bridge on Modhumati

at Gopalganj; the 3rd Shitalakhya Bridge at Naryanganj,

and the 703-meter long Raniganj Bridge on Kushiara

River at Sunamganj. Steps have already been taken to

construct the 1400-meter 4th Banjgldesh-China Friendship

Bridge on Kocha River at Pirojpur, the 1020-meter long

9th Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge on Boga River at

Patuakhali; the 1050-meter long 10th Bangladesh-China

Friendship Bridge on Mongla Channel in Khulna; and the

1140-meter long 11th Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge

on Jhapjhapia River also in Khulna.

Programs have been taken to improve the Highway-

Network through further widening the existing highways,

developing and ensuring more vehicular safety

precaution. These include: Upgrading Joydebpur-

Chandra-Tangail-Alenga National Highway into 4-Lane

along with separate service lanes; Upgrading Alenga-Hat-

Kamrul-Rangpur National Highway into 4-Lane along

with Service Lanes on both sides; Construction of

Expressways on Jatrabari-Mawa and Pachchar-Vanga with

service lane t both sides as a link highway to Padma

Bridge; Improvement of sylhet-Companyganj Bholaganj

Highway to the standard of National Highway; and

Construction of District Highway between Itna and

Mithai-Moin-Astogram . Besides, under the `Western

Bangladesh Bridge Improvement Project (WBBIP), a

massive roads and highway improvement works are

underway, which includes, reconstruction of 60 damaged

and narrow bridges. In addition to it, construction of 17

Bridges and Dhaka-Chittagong Expressways are in

progress under Cross-Border Road Network

Improvement Project.

Bangladesh is integrated with 6 intercontinental, regional

and sub-regional highway network initiatives in terms of

geopolitically strategic location. These are:

1) Asian Highway Network (AH)

2) Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic
Corridor (BCIM-EC)
3) South Asia Sub-Regional Economic Cooperation
(SASEC) Road Corridors
4) South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) Highway Corridors
5) Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral
Technical & Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)
Road Corridors GES; and
6) Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor
Vehicles Agreement (MVA)

The pace of economic development of the entire region

will be accelerated with the integration of inter-state and

sub-regional road communication corridors, comprising

Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and China

with the implementation of the corridors involved in the

above initiaives. In tune with this masterplan of regional

surface networking our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi have jointly

laid foundation stone of the Bangladesh-India Friendship

Bridge-1.
Bangladesh Road Transport Authority-BRTA)
The objective of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority is

to develop a comprehensive road transportation system

which will be most modern, safe, environment-friendly

and IT-based. Online collection of Tax and fees for

vehicles was introduced in 2010. Meanwhile the whole

country is brought under this network. Smart Card

Driving License was introduced in 2011 in orderto stop

fake, counterfeit and illegal driving license. Before that

the vehicular tax and fees were made easy to be paid

through online banking in 2010. The whole country has

already been brought under this integrated and digitized

network. In orderto bring the vehicular regulation

enforcement under digital system the retro-reflective

Number Plate system and Radio Frequency Identification

(RFID) was introduced in 2012 and by 2013 modern

Digital Registration Certificate or the vehicular ownership

certification was introduced aided by modern chips and

biometric identification module from 2013. For testing of

vehicles fitness in Dhaka city the Vehicle Inspection

Center for automatic testing has been introduced.

Gradually it will be spread out all over the country.

Following the recommendations in the Strategic

Transport Plan, Dhaka Transportation co-ordination

Authority (DTCA) is coordinating closely to

implement projects to create a planned, modern,

integrated and environment friendly faster public

transportation system in Dhaka and neighboring areas. .

Among the notable projects there are President Zillur

Rahman flyover, Banani Railway Overpass, Shahid Ahsan

Ullah Master Flyover, Mayor Mohammad Hanif Flyover,

Bijoy Sarani Tejgaon Link Road, Moktarpur Bridge,

Shahid Buddhijibi Bridge, Shirnirtek-Gabtoli Link Road,

Integrated Development of Begunbani-Hatirjheel area and

Hatirpool-Rampura-Shekherjayga-Demra Highway. STP

has further been updated and revised keeping in view the

enhanced demand of urban transportation in and around

Dhaka city.

To alleviate the traffic congestion of Dhaka City the

construction of 20.10 kilometers long, countrys first

`Metrorail or the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-6,

has already been initiated. By the introduction of this

`Metrorail by 2019 the flow of traffic will be 60 thousand

passengers per hour on either side.

The route alignment of MRT-6: Uttara Sector-3 - Rokeya

Sarani -Farm Gate Via Khamarbari-Farm Gate-Hotel

Sonargaon-Shahbagh TSC-Doyel Chattor-Topkhana

Road - Bangladesh Bank.

There will be 16 stations for MRT-6: Uttara North, Uttara

Center, Uttara South, Pallabi, Mirpur-11, Mirpur-10,

Kazipara, Sheorapara, Agargaron, Bijoy Sarani, Farmgate,

Karwan Bazar, Shahbagh, Dhaka University, Bangladesh

Secretariat and Motijheel.

Abiding to the Revised STP Recommendations, the

Feasibility Research for the MRT Line-1 for 26.20

Kilometer and MRT line-5 for 20.80 Kilometer are

already underway. As provision kept, altogether 24.90

kilometers from both lines will either be Underground

Metro, or Underground railway.

For facilitating road transit of the residents of Dhaka City

and Gazipur there is a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) from

Gazipur to Airport being built with provision for 25

stations on the 20.50 Kilometer route, providing 25

thousand passengers per hour on both sides.

Rapid Pass will be introduced for facilitating

comfortable journey by Metrorail, Bus Rapid Transit,

BRTC Bus, BIWTC launch-steamers or contractual

private bus services using the same SMART Card.

Initiative has been taken to resolve sustainably the

congestion in the four intersections of Dhaka

Metropolitan City at Polton Square, Gulshan-1, Gulistan

and Mohakhali Railway Crossing.

Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC)

Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation or BRTC is a

state-owned enterprise. This organization is playing a vital

role in developing passengers and cargo transport and in

developing skilled drives and auto- technicians. The

BRTC fleet now includes articulated bus, double-

deckers and single-deck AC bus and non-air-conditioned

bus. Buses for working women are being operated to

facilitate the passengers of Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj

and Chittagong. Special Bus Services having lower travel

cost are being operated on various routes for school,

college and university students. In terms of City Bus

routes, each bus has special seating provision where 13

seats for ladies, elderly citizens, children and physically

challenged persons are reserved. Few Portable Ramps

have been set in a few routes for the physically impaired

persons. Staff Bus Services have been introduced for all

staffs and officers of Bangladesh Secretariat. Free Internet

facilities have been initiated to make journey comfortable

in the buses. Awarded and war-injured Freedom Fighters

can avail themselves of any ride to any destination free of

cost in BRTC routes. Dhaka-Kolkata-Dhaka, Dhaka-

Agartola-Dhaka and Dhaka-Sylhet-Shilong-Gouhati bus

routes have been introduced by BRTC to facilitate inter-

state surface communications. The international

reservation counters and terminals have standard

passenger amenities including clean restrooms.

The End