Monday, August 26, 2024

Bangladesh metro back on track after protests end

Dhaka is one of the world's most densely populated cities, and the railway is a critical transport link in the sprawling megacity of some 20 million people.



Bangladesh Metro services resumed after days of student protests rocked the country. (Photo: AP/file)


Agence France-Presse
Dhaka, Bangladesh,
UPDATED: Aug 25, 2024 
Posted By: Vivek Kumar

In Short

Commuters express feeling of relief upon resumption of metro

Welcome progress towards normalcy after days of commotion

Metro services started in Bangladesh in 2022


Bangladesh's metro railway in the notoriously congested capital Dhaka resumed on Sunday, more than a month after it was closed during the peak of student-led protests that eventually toppled the prime minister.

Much in the troubled South Asian nation remains in political turmoil since the revolution that ousted Sheikh Hasina and ended her 15-year-long iron-fisted rule, but on Sunday, the trains at least were back on track.
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Dhaka is one of the world's most densely populated cities, and the railway is a critical transport link in the sprawling megacity of some 20 million people.

Banker Shaheen Sultana said she was delighted her commute to work was a "relaxed" affair after weeks of car-clogged gridlock on the roads.

"I am very happy that it is working again," 40-year-old Sultana said, as she exited a station near her workplace in the city's commercial heart. "It is a great relief."

The elevated train network was closed in mid-July during student-led protests.

In the deadly violence - which would see hundreds of people killed until Hasina quit and fled the country by helicopter on August 5 - the stations were vandalised by a mob.

RETURN TO NORMAL

The resumption of metro services is a key sign of a return to normal daily life.

Its reopening was ordered by the new caretaker government, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, 84.

"In the absence of the metro I had to take the bus to work," said Kaosar Khan, a speech therapist at a private hospital in the city.

"I faced massive traffic snarls," Khan, 25, added. "It used to take two hours on the bus, but with the metro, I can reach my destination in 15 minutes".

Hasina's government was accused of widespread abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killing of political opponents.

But Dhaka's metro, inaugurated in 2022, is seen by many as one of the most significant infrastructure endeavours of Hasina's otherwise tarnished tenure.

It was an instant hit in the congested city where commuting by road is a source of massive frustration.

'WHY HURT THE NATION?'

Local researchers say the capital's economy loses upwards of $3 billion each year in lost work time due to traffic jams, often worsened by regular street protests and monsoonal downpours.

Pictures released by Hasina's office while she was still in office, showed her weeping at the sight of a vandalised metro station in an outlying Dhaka suburb.

Hasina had called the line a "matter of great pride" when she opened it in December 2022, and during the protests, she was furious that it had been attacked.

"Who has benefitted... Do I ride on the metro?" she asked at the time.

But others said Hasina's government had exploited the attack on the metro, to shut it down as a warning.

"They wanted to say if you go against us, you will have to suffer the consequences," said Mohammad Hridoy, 28, a technology worker waiting at the platform.

"The shutdown seemed more deliberate than necessitated by circumstances."

On Sunday, some passengers said the metro attack was a blot on the reputation of the protesters.

"Why hurt the nation and destroy public property?" said Sharmin Sultana, 55, a housewife travelling with her young daughter, a yellow scarf covering her head.

"We should protect our national property, irrespective of party politics."

Yunus asks China to relocate solar panel factories to Bangladesh

ByAriful Islam Mithu
Aug 25, 2024 

Yunus called on China to increase the import of Bangladeshi goods to increase economic cooperation between the two countries

Dhaka: Muhammad Yunus, head of Bangladesh’s interim government, on Sunday emphasised the need for close economic collaboration between Dhaka and Beijing and urged China to do more for his country’s green transition and exports by moving some solar panel factories to Bangladesh.
Bangladesh interim government head Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus (AP Photo)


Yunus made the proposal when Chinese ambassador Yao Wen made an introductory call on him. The Chinese government welcomed the interim government on August 9, days after former premier Sheikh Hasina stepped down and fled to India in the face of a student-led protest in which more than 600 people were killed.
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Yunus highlighted the close economic collaboration between Beijing and Dhaka and asked Chinese investors to relocate their plants to Bangladesh, a statement from his office said.

He said China has emerged as one of the largest manufacturers of solar panels “but the country increasingly faced restrictions in the export market”. Chinese manufacturers “can relocate” solar panel factories to Bangladesh, which will help Dhaka to diversify exports and transition into a green economy, the Nobel laureate said.

Also Read: Bangladesh’s Yunus proposes high-level collaboration on floods with India

Yunus called on China to increase the import of Bangladeshi goods to increase economic cooperation between the two countries. He also called for technology transfers and increased collaboration in disaster management, education and farming.

Yao conveyed the greetings of the Chinese leadership to Yunus on his assumption of the leadership of the interim government and said Beijing is ready to work with Dhaka. Yao hoped that Yunus would “fulfill expectations of a poverty-free Bangladesh”.

“The future of Bangladesh will be better and brighter under your leadership,” Yao told Yunus. He also said China remains committed to finding a durable solution to the Rohingya crisis, including a ceasefire in the violence-torn Rakhine state of Myanmar.

Yunus hoped China would continue to provide political, financial and humanitarian assistance to more than one million Rohingya people living in Bangladesh. He recalled his fond memories of China, where several universities have set up “Yunus Centres” and many young people have formed “Three Zero Clubs”, whose members make commitments for zero contributions to climate change, zero wealth concentration and zero unemployment.

Yunus emphasised the need for youth-to-youth collaboration and people-to-people connections between the two countries.

Also Read: At least 13 killed after floods in eastern Bangladesh affect 4.5 million people

During the meeting, Yao conveyed Chinese leaderships’ invitation to Yunus to visit China at a convenient time. He said Bangladesh is at the crossroads but “the people of Bangladesh will overcome the challenges”.


Yao also handed over a cheque for $20,000 to the Flood Relief Fund of the Chief Adviser from the Chinese embassy. He said the Chinese Red Cross will donate $100,000 as humanitarian aid for flood victims.

He also noted that China and Bangladesh had recently upgraded their ties to a “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership” and that both sides will celebrate the 50th year of diplomatic ties in 2025.

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