Six foreign staff infected with Covid

six foreign engineers of Metro Rail project had recently tested positive for coronavirus infection, said Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited managing director MAN Siddique on Tuesday. With this, since the outbreak of the virus in Bangladesh in March 2020, a total of 343 people working under the project tested positive for the disease, he said at a virtual press briefing.

Sidduque said that all the foreign nationals working under the project would be brought under the vaccination programme of the government from March 17. Till the date, the overall progress of the metro rail was 58.27 per cent, he said.

Replying to a question, he said that after arrival of the first train in Bangladesh they would confirm if the train would start running on the Uttara-Agargaon portion by December 16 as per the government decision. The shipment of the first train for the metro rail in Bangladesh started on March 4 from Japan which was expected to arrive at the metro rail depot at Uttara on April 23, he added.

Currently, the DMTCL is implementing the 20.1-kilometre elevated rail project on Uttara-Motijheel route intending to carry 60,000 passengers per hour from both ends by 24 trains. Planning minister MA Mannan on February 17 requested the company to start running a train on the Uttara-Agargaon route by December 16. The project deadline is 2024.

The first part of the metro rail project, the 11.73-kilometre segment from Uttara to Agargaon, has become visible after the installation of the last viaduct. Following a directive from the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, the company in 2019 started working to extend the metro rail by 1.16 kilometres up to Kamalapur.