Police have issued a set of instructions for owners of buildings next to the Dhaka Metro Rail line stretching from Agargaon to Diabari ahead of its opening.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the country's first metro rail on Dec 28 and the directives, which will also be given to building owners in writing, are geared towards her safety, according to Additional Commissioner Abdul Halim of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Pallabi Zone.
Here are the seven instructions that building owners must follow on inauguration day:
1. No new tenant can move into any building or flat adjacent to the metro rail lines before Dec 29.
2. No new office, shop or restaurant can be opened in any commercial building on Dec 28.
3. On the day of the inauguration, clothes must not be put out to dry on balconies and rooftops of buildings next to the metro rail lines. People are also barred from standing on balconies and rooftops during the inauguration.
4. No pictures or festoons shall be affixed to buildings or flats.
5. No one is allowed to stay in the commercial space of any building or hotel on Dec 28.
6. Residents of any building or flat, who legally possess any firearm or weapon, must hand them over to their local police station by Dec 25.
7. All banks and ATM booths on either side of the metro rail line will be closed on the morning of Dec 28 and during the inauguration ceremony.
Initially, the public will be able to access the section of the metro rail network from Diabari in Uttara to Agargaon in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar via Mirpur on Dec 29.
State-owned company DMTCL is in charge of executing the Japan-financed project. The initial budget of Tk 219.85 billion for the Uttara-Motijheel project was overrun and later revised to about Tk 334.72 billion as the authorities expanded it to Kamalapur, the central railway station.
In the first phase, trains will power through the 11.73-km stretch from Uttara to Agargaon, punctuated by nine stations, in just 20 minutes. The travel time will be reduced to 16-17 minutes when the system operates in full swing, according to officials.
The government has fixed Tk 20 as the minimum fare, which means if passengers travel to the next station, they will have to pay as much.
