Two mayors of Dhaka on Wednesday made the primary selection of four spots at the periphery of the Dhaka city for the relocation of inter-district bus terminals.
The four selected spots are Batulia at Uttara near metro depot, Hemayetpur of Savar, Teghoria of Keraniganj and Kanchpur.
The Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) has proposed at least 10 sites for building new terminals and bus depots as part of the much-talked-about bus route rationalisation move.
The technical committee of the DTCA proposed the sites to the bus route rationalisation committee.
The 10 proposed spots include Batulia, Hemayetpur, Madanpur, Baipail, Bhulta, Kanchpur, Teghoria and Boro Monohoria of Keraniganj, Gazipur Chowrasta and Jhilmil- all entry points of the city.
In Kanchpur, bus will come from Chattogram, Feni, Noakhali, Cumilla, Khagrachhari, Rangamati, Bandarban and Cox's Bazar.
In Batulia, bus will come from Tangail, Mymensingh, Sirajganj, Pabna, Bogura, Natore, Rajshahi.
In Hemayetpur, bus will come from Manikganj, Faridpur, Gopalganj, and some northern and southern districts.
In Teghoria, bus will come from Shariatpur, Madaripur and all the districts under Barishal division.
Both the mayors want shifting of the two major inter-district bus terminals at Mohakhali and Sayedabad as soon as possible as the terminals are responsible for creating much traffic chaos in the city.
Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Barrister Fazle Noor Taposh said the bus route rationalisation committee decided in its last meeting to select sites for inter-district bus terminals at 10 spots.
"We have shortlisted four sites from the 10 locations as we think primarily these four will be acceptable more. Other spots are very far. We have come for visit to see suitability of the spots," he said.
The final decision will come at the meeting of the bus route rationalisation committee scheduled for next month, he said, adding: following the committee decision the proposal to construct terminals at those spots will be sent to the ministry.
Answering a question on how much land will be acquired and how many vehicles can be accommodated, the DSCC mayor said these things will be clear after a feasibility study. The study will be conducted by a consulting firm.
Mr Taposh further said nowhere in the world inter-district (long route) buses enter the city. There is no city bus terminal in Dhaka for which buses create congestion and chaos through indiscriminate parking.
The city transport management is expected to be more disciplined by next year, he added.
Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Atiqul Islam said no inter-district bus will be allowed to enter the city after implementation of bus franchise.
The city buses will run in the city while the inter-district buses will stop at a certain point; as there is a trend of competition between the city buses and inter-district buses affecting the entire traffic management system.
The city bus will operate on a specific route of the city, he added.
"We have decided in the last meeting that we will bring the 160 buses owned by 29 people under one company from Ghatarchar to Motijjheel. The bus owners and labourers have been helping us in implementing the route franchise," he said.
Detailed Area Plan (DAP) project director of Rajuk said 10 spots have been selected for construction of inter-district bus terminals.
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