Live Correspondent: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday became the first passenger to travel on the metro rail buying a ticket, as she set another milestone in the country's communication history in a span of six months after opening the dream Padma Bridge, reports BBS.

The first ever-metro train, carrying Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana along with around 200 other passengers left from North Uttara to Agargaon at 01:53 pm.

Around 200 passengers including freedom fighters, speakers, ministers, government officials, diplomats, school students, ethnic minorities and others joined the premier in the maiden metro rail journey.

Bangladesh entered a new era as prime minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the country's first-ever elevated metro rail in the capital Dhaka this morning.

She flagged off the service of the train at North Uttara station. There she also wrote on the green flags which were used to flag off the train.

Earlier, the Prime Minister collected the ticket at about 01:35 pm at the North Uttara station followed by her younger sister Sheikh Rehana, another daughter of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Later, both of them punched their ticket at the entrance of the station and boarded the train. After the arrival at the North Uttara Station, the Prime Minister planted a sapling there. Her sister Sheikh Rehana was also present there.

As part of the empowerment of women, Mariam Afiza as the first operator drove the metro train. Initially, the metro train will run from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon every day from Uttara to Agargaon station without any stoppage.

State-owned Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) will operate 30 double-decker buses to transport passengers to and from metro rail stations.

Of those, 20 buses will be operated on the Agargaon-Motijheel route via Farmgate, Karwan Bazar, Shahbagh and Gulistan while 10 buses will run from Uttara's House Building to Uttara's North station at Diabari via Abdullahpur.

Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), a government-owned company, is implementing the metro rail projects.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been constructing the metro rail and providing soft loans for the project. The construction work of the MRT Line-6 began in 2016.

Dhaka, 28 December (campuslive24.com)// BIT