National
Joydebpur-Rangpur 2nd Smart Highways is set to introduce in Dec 2024
Bangladesh is set to inaugurate its first smart highway on the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway in December 2023, with plans for a second one connecting Joydebpur with Rangpur expected to be commissioned in December of the following year. The primary aim of these projects is to enhance road safety through the implementation of an Intelligent Transport System (ITS), featuring vehicle detection systems, surveillance cameras, automated number plate recognition cameras, speed detection mechanisms, and variable messaging signs.
The 38-kilometer Dhaka-Mawa Expressway will serve as the pilot project for the ITS and is being developed with the assistance of South Korea’s KOICA under a Taka 126 crore plan. Meanwhile, work is underway to introduce this technology to the 250-kilometer Joydebpur-Rangpur highway, with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) involving a $15 million investment, with completion expected by December 2024.
The government’s motivation behind implementing this technology is to detect vehicles exceeding speed and weight limits, ensuring road safety and holding violators accountable. These initiatives align with the nation’s goal of advancing highway surveillance to match developed countries. The Joydebpur-Rangpur smart highway is part of a regional highway construction project under the South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) framework, which includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
National Development Engineers (NDE), a Bangladeshi infrastructure firm, in collaboration with Chinese firm Fiber Home Telecommunication Technologies Co Ltd, is responsible for implementing the Joydebpur-Rangpur smart highway, while Bangladeshi IT firm National Tech has been awarded the contract for the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway.
The project envisions the establishment of a central Traffic Management Centre (TMC) in Mirpur, Dhaka, along with three regional TMCs in Tangail, Bogura, and Rangpur. These centers will monitor the entire highway through the ITS system, including a Vehicle Detective System (VDS) to detect accidents and other obstacles promptly. Surveillance cameras and Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) Cameras will help identify traffic rule violators and those exceeding load and speed limits.
The technology will also include LED-enabled Variable Messaging Signs (VMS) on gantries along the highway to provide advance warnings of road hazards or diversions due to accidents. Additionally, a Weigh in Motion (WIM) system will be implemented at various points on the highway to prevent overloaded trucks, a common cause of accidents in Bangladesh.
To ensure strict compliance with load limits, three Axle Load Control Centres will be established at Pakulla in Tangail, Mahasthangarh in Bogura, and Islampur in Rangpur. Trucks exceeding permitted limits will not be allowed to exit these control stations.
In summary, the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) is poised to enhance road safety in Bangladesh by using advanced technology to detect and respond to traffic violations and accidents promptly. Such initiatives are essential to address the country’s high rate of road accidents, often attributed to overloaded trucks.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has forecasted light to moderate rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty winds at most places across the Rangpur, Rajshahi, Mymensingh, Dhaka, Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram, and Sylhet divisions. Some areas may experience moderately heavy to very heavy rainfall, according to their latest weather bulletin released on Thursday.
Day and night temperatures are expected to remain nearly unchanged across the country.
The highest rainfall in the country over the past 24 hours was recorded in Kumarkhali, with 104mm of rain by 6 a.m. on Thursday.
The axis of the monsoon trough extends from India’s Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal to Assam, passing through Bangladesh, with one of its associated troughs stretching into the North Bay of Bengal.
The monsoon remains active over Bangladesh and moderate to strong over the North Bay region.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has forecasted that the mild heat wave currently affecting parts of the country, including the capital, is expected to subside in most areas within the next 24 hours, starting from 9 am today.
“A mild heat wave is sweeping across the divisions of Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh, and Sylhet, as well as the districts of Jashore, Chuadanga, and Kushtia. It is likely to ease in most regions,” the department reported.
In addition, BMD predicted light to moderate rainfall or thundershowers, accompanied by temporary gusty winds, across most of Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram, and Sylhet divisions. Some areas are expected to experience moderate to very heavy rainfall.
Temperatures across the country may drop by 1-2 degrees Celsius during both day and night.
On Monday, Dinajpur in the Rangpur division recorded the country’s highest temperature at 38.6°C, while Bandarban in the Chattogram division saw the lowest temperature at 24.6°C early today.
Meanwhile, rainfall recorded in the past 24 hours, ending at 6 am today, reached 66 mm in Nikli of Dhaka Division.
The sunset in Dhaka is at 5:53 pm today, and sunrise is expected at 5:49 am tomorrow.
Two separate murder cases were filed today in connection with the deaths of a private service holder and a Madrasa student during the anti-discrimination student movement.
The first case was lodged by Ridwan Ahmed with Panchlaish police station, accusing former ministers Dr. Hasan Mahmud, Barrister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Naufel, and 127 others for the death of his nephew Sujan, 14. Sujan, the son of Belal Hossain from Beramara village in Noakhali’s Sadar Thana, was a student at Al Jamirul Hayat Madrasa in the city’s Chandgaon area. He was fatally shot in the Muradpur area on July 18.
The second case was filed by Jamal Uddin at Doublemooring police station, accusing 225 individuals, including Dr. Hasan Mahmud and Education Minister Barrister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Naufel, for the killing of his elder brother Alam, a private service holder, on August 5.
