The PM visited the Mirpur-10 metro rail station, which was vandalised during the quota reform protests

TDS Desk:

The countrymen must stand against those who destroyed the development by the government and judge the perpetrators themselves, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Thursday (25 July).

On a visit to the Mirpur-10 metro rail station, which was vandalised during the quota reform protests, she said, “It will be ensured that the common people can reach their workplaces without any problems. I will try to make the country financially prosperous.”

She said the people had liberated this country through their blood and it could not fail.

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“What kind of mentality leads them to destroy facilities that make people’s lives easier? Dhaka city was clogged with traffic. The metro rail offered respite. I cannot accept the destruction of this transport facility made with modern technology,” she said.

Speaking on the quota reform movement, she said, “The demand centring quota has been fulfilled, even more than what the agitators wanted. So what is the movement about now? Their demands have been constantly changing, which has created a scope for carrying out such destruction.”

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She said the country had made tremendous strides in the last 16 years, the benefits of which were being reaped by the people.

“Why are they so angry at this [development]? The common people will suffer due to the destruction of state resources. The people have to resist those who are causing such suffering,” the PM said.

During the visit today, Hasina inspected different parts of the station which was totally devastated in the recent mayhem centring the student movement for reformation of quota in public service.

Senior officials of the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) briefed the PM regarding the destruction and the future plan to reopen the Mirpur-10 and Kazipara stations.

Some unidentified people went on a rampage at Mirpur-10 and Kazipara metro stations last Friday causing significant damages.

Metro rail services were suspended on 18 July amid demonstrations by students demanding quota reform in public service.

Officials at DMTCL indicated that the reopening schedule will be declared once the inquiry committee, formed to assess the damages, submits its report within 10 working days.

The inquiry committee was formed on 22 July to assess the extent of the damages to the metro rail and to determine when it can be made operational again.

Additional Secretary Mohammad Zakaria, who is the additional director of the metro rail MRT Line-6 project, is leading the committee.

The government opened the metro station for public on 1 March 2023, nearly two months after the inauguration of the country’s much-awaited metro rail.

The main construction work of the project started in 2017.

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The cost of the country’s first ever metro rail project stood at Tk33,472 crore. Notably, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provided Tk19,719 crore in the form of a loan to support the project, while the Government of Bangladesh funded the remaining amount.

In the beginning, the estimated cost of this project was about Tk21,000 crore. The cost increased due to the construction of an additional 1.6 km section from Motijheel to Kamalapur, acquisition of new land for each station, and the addition of various new facilities.

The prime minister formally inaugurated the Uttara-Agargaon section of MRT-6 line of the Metro Rail on 28 December 2022.