Fulbaria bus terminal to be relocated

Buses lined up on one side of the road, hawkers occupying the other side and thousands of people trapped in between. It sometimes takes one to two hours to travel just a few kilometers. To provide some relief to Dhaka residents from this familiar suffering, a major initiative has now been taken to change the management of bus terminals and depots.

Gulistan and Fulbaria bus terminals which are among the major sources of traffic congestion in the capital are being relocated to Chunkutia in Keraniganj. Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Mosleh Uddin Ahmed said the terminals are planned to be relocated within the next three months.

He said, “Work has started to build a depot on 10 acres of land at the Jhilmil project in Chunkutia. Once the work is completed, the buses from Fulbaria and Gulistan will be relocated there.”

He made the remarks while speaking to journalists on Saturday after inspecting the “development activities” for traffic management at Dhaka’s Mohakhali Terminal.

At the same time, an initiative is being implemented to separate bus terminals and depots. Mohakhali Terminal will remain at its designated location. However, its depot will be moved to Purbachal. Relevant officials hope this will reduce the tendency of buses to remain unnecessarily parked on busy city roads.

The DMP commissioner also said, “We are expected to get 10 acres of land as a depot at the Jhilmil project in Chunkutia. We have started work on the depot there. Through RAJUK, we will get around 75 more acres of land where a permanent terminal and depot will be built. There are plans to relocate all transport vehicles serving 19 southern districts there, along with trucks and trucks from the Badamtali wholesale market.”

He said, “Until the permanent terminal and depot are built in Chunkutia, we will temporarily shift the terminal in Gulistan and Fulbaria to 10 acres of land there.”

The DMP commissioner said, “We have set a maximum period of three months. As soon as it is completed, we will shift the buses from Fulbaria and Gulistan there.”

He said the plan is to relocate the buses from Fulbaria and Gulistan through the same process being followed to move the buses from Mohakhali Terminal to Purbachal.

DMP also taking a tough stance on keeping sidewalks free from encroachment.

In response to questions from journalists, the DMP commissioner said emphasis is also being placed on keeping the capital’s sidewalks free from encroachment alongside the bus terminal initiative.

Those involved in attacks and vehicle burning during a recent operation to remove hawkers from sidewalks in Mirpur have already been arrested. Operations to arrest other suspects are continuing.

However, the DMP does not want to stop after simply removing the hawkers. The DMP commissioner also said the police will provide full cooperation to city corporations in their efforts to keep sidewalks free from encroachment.

Parliament member Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas who was present at the event said, “We are all fed up with the unbearable traffic congestion in Dhaka city and the disorder in the road transport sector. We want change. We want to change this disorder and unbearable situation caused by traffic congestion in Dhaka. The public wants it. Today, a change is taking place in Mohakhali. This will also happen in Fulbaria, Gulistan, Sayedabad and Gabtoli.”