Dhaka Elevated Expressway: Commuters in euphoria as cars dominate on first day
Cars dominated the Dhaka Elevated Expressway on the morning of the first day of its opening. There were some buses and covered vans which used the Dhaka Elevated Expressway on the day
It is a completely different day for 32-year-old microbus driver Monirul Islam, and he is in a state of euphoria.
Monirul came to the Bijoy Sarani Flyover in his microbus to go to Uttara and become the first person to use the elevated expressway after it opened to the public.
When it struck 6:00am, the expressway opened to public, and he pulled up his microbus to the toll plaza on the Bijoy Sarani Flyover.
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"I am feeling great. Look, it takes only five minutes to reach Banani," said Monirul Islam while driving the microbus. His microbus reached Kawla in the Airport area within 12 minutes only.
He had left his home at five in the morning to get ahead of other vehicles to ply on the expressway. At the toll plaza, this correspondent got on Monirul's microbus and sat next to him on the front seat. The road was still wet with last night's rain. In the wink of an eye, the microbus reached the airport.
Cars dominated the Dhaka Elevated Expressway on the morning of the first day of its opening, while there were some buses and covered vans as well.
With the number of vehicles increasing with time, more than 2,000 vehicles crossed the expressway till 10am.
Though bus, trucks and cars are allowed to ply the elevated expressway, CNG-run auto-rickshaws and motorcycles are barred from using the route.
The employees of the expressway were seen using loudspeakers to warn motorcyclists not to use the road while encouraging heavy vehicles to use the elevated expressway this morning.
Mizanur Rahman, a businessman, also came to get a taste of the country's first elevated expressway with his nine-year-old daughter Mithila. Mizanur has lived in the sector 7 in Uttara for the last 20 years.
"It [the expressway] will bring comfort to people's journey. Whenever I thought of going to Farmgate, Mogbazar and Old Dhaka area, I became worried," said Mizanur Rahman while pulling up his SUV at the mouth of the Kawla point of the elevated expressway.
Though cars dominated the elevated expressway on the first day, there were some buses that took the new route. The first bus that crossed the elevated expressway was a staff bus of the Birdem General Hospital.
The passengers were in a state of euphoria. The staff got onto the bus from different points in Gazipur and in the city.
Alamgir Hossain, a counter supervisor of the Birdem General Hospital said he gets on the bus from Tongi Station Road area and it takes him two hours or more on a regular day.
He said it takes around 40 minutes to one hour to come to Farmgate from the Airport area.
"Now it will take only 12 minutes, which means it saves around 30 minutes at the minimum," said Alamgir Hossain, sitting on the front side of the bus. "A 10-minute time-saving in the early morning is very important."
A physician from Birdem Hospital, Dr Sanny Al Amin, who was traveling on a staff bus, shared that he regularly travels on buses from Gazipur College Gate area to Shahbagh, which takes around one hour. On the other hand, when he returns home in the evening, it takes around one and a half to two hours.
"I think by using the expressway we can save around 40 minutes in the morning and one hour in the evening time," said Dr Sanny Al Amin.
Meanwhile, President of Dhaka Metropolitan CNG Auto-rickshaw Owners Associaton, Barkat Ullah Bhulu, told The Business Standard about how they feel left out after being deprived of the opportunity to run CNG-run auto-rickshaw on the expressway.
"We are waiting to see if the government changes its mind about CNG-auto rickshaws. We have seen that motorcycles were banned in the Padma bridge in the beginning, later they were allowed to drive," said Barkat Ullah Bhulu.
He said that he would meet the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority chairman to discuss the issue soon.
Parking, getting out of the vehicle, and standing on the elevated expressway to take pictures have been prohibited. Some passengers of the buses were seen taking their selfies inside the bus, keeping the elevated expressway in the background.
