The nation, with the residents of the capital city in the forefront, has been waiting with bated breath for the launch of the nation's first metro rail line (MRT-6) that was supposed to be inaugurated on Victory Day (December 16, 2022). V-Day came and went, but no metro rail. The official launch date has been pushed back to December 28. It is hardly surprising that people were euphoric. In a city where residents spend up to five hours a day just to get from their homes to the workplace and back, the hype that has surrounded the MRT project over the years has also raised people's expectations. Just think, a one to 2-hour journey is cut down to 20 minutes, who wouldn't be excited? For years together, city dwellers had gotten used to the miserable traffic situation and a large number of Dhaka residents were mentally prepared to be one of the first commuters on their beloved MRT, even though only a partial route of the 6th line was due to be launched on December 16.
So, why was not MRT launched on Victory Day? According to a report published in this paper on December 21, it appears that there has been a problem with safety clearance. Any mega-project of this magnitude must be signed off by some authority before its formal launch. Unfortunately, that little detail appears to have not been looked into properly as all bodies involved in the project were racing to meet the deadline. Reportedly, a committee had been set up to look into the whole approval process. It had made a recommendation to the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) "to conduct a third-party audit for ensuring safety and security" of the MRT 6 line, which is now scheduled to be inaugurated on December 28.
That said, if one goes into the documentation of the project, Section 15 of the Metro Rail Act 2015 to be precise, one can see that DMTCL is the body that is responsible for dealing with all technical matters and getting approval from the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) - which is the regulator for this new mass transport system. As reported, the "technical issues include infrastructure facilities, rolling-stock establishment, operation and maintenance and safety management." It is all there in black and white. Hence, this lapse is DMTCL's. Going by what experts in the field say, the issue of safety certification has been incorporated into the Act to ensure the requisite inspection and evaluation of all relevant information about the MRT project.
Safety must be the number one priority for a project such as this. Tens of thousands of people commuting on these trains are concerned. The routes are largely overhead, so safety is of paramount importance. There is no room for any lapse whatsoever, and that's why the clause is there in the Act.
A probe by this newspaper into the matter shows that DMTCL had actually sent specifications of MRT6 to the regulator DTCA for clearance, but apparently, the latter could not comply as it lacked the experience to do so. Again, on the eve of launching the much-awaited service, the public is informed that the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges has formed a multi-stakeholder body including officials and academia to look into this whole issue.
Why must such matters smack of incompetence and unprofessionalism? One would think that the people and agencies responsible for this very important mega-project would bother to read what the Act says and act accordingly. But no, that would be hoping for too much. Now the ball is in the committee's court and its members have visited all the infrastructure of the MRT and then gone back to holding meetings with the multiple contractors involved in the construction. A report has been submitted to the regulator with several recommendations, including one that would have a third party do an audit of the entire system. Wasn't that mentioned under Section 15 of the Act? Moving on, the DTCA top boss has gone on record to state that the regulator is not mandated to certify, but rather to audit and oversee the various legal aspects of operations. The DTCA informs that it is DTMCL that must prepare these documents and pass these on to DCTA. But at least DCTA has admitted that it lacks the professional capacity and necessary manpower to carry this out.
Recapping what has been stated till now, there are two agencies involved with this process. The DCTA (the regulator) and the DTMCL (on the operational side) and there is, apparently, little coordination between the two. There is a general lack of prioritisation for safety. Otherwise, none of this could have happened.
As time has already been wasted, one can only hope at corners will not be cut to expedite the audit work (at the cost of safety). The metro rail reportedly will operate on a limited scale on the Uttara-Agargaon segment initially. Before the start of the full operation, the authorities concerned, hopefully, would resolve the safety issues through effective coordination among themselves.
