A day of pure happiness

Nine-year-old Abdullah was waiting impatiently to see the arrival of a metro train at Agargaon station yesterday. As the train reached around 12:30pm, his eyes were sparkling with joy.

"I've seen the trains on TV only, but today [yesterday], I'm going to take a ride on it. I'm over the moon," said an elated Abdullah, third-grader of a primary school who started living in a government-run rehabilitation centre for street children in Kamalapur, after losing his mother last year.

Like Abdullah, around 800 children got an opportunity to ride the metro for the first time yesterday, under an initiative of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs.

Of them 474 were the awardees of the National Children Award Competition 2020 and 2021, and around 200 were from Shishu Bikash Kendra of Azimpur and Keraniganj, said Rezaul Kabir, joint secretary of the ministry.

At 11:30am, they started entering the station along with their guardians and other officials. Since then, the whole station was brimmed with the laughter and joy of children.

Finally around 12:55pm, the train started for Uttara North station, stirring excitement among the children.

They looked out at the windows with curious eyes. Some of them were seen singing and dancing, while the train embarked on a 12-minute journey to its destination.

"Before this, I saw the Padma bridge. Today [yesterday], I got the chance to ride the metro. It's an overwhelming moment for me that I'm on the train with my school friends and classmates," said fourth-grader Suchona Akhter.

Dozens of children, who arrived at the station on several BRTC buses, shared the same sentiments.

Sarajit Kumar Biswas, a trainer of non-formal education at the Kamalapur centre who came with his students, said, "Since they got to know about this ride, they were excited. Usually, we had to wake them up in the morning and get them ready for the day. But today [yesterday], they woke up earlier than usual and got ready."

Lucky Enam, chairman of Shishu Academy, said the children have witnessed the progress of "Smart Bangladesh" through this trip.

"They are happy and excited. We are also happy to see their eyes filled with joy," said Lucky.

Deputy Project Director (Public Relations) Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Project (Line-1) Nazmul Islam Bhuiyan said it was a good initiative and the children got to know about the advanced transport system.

The metro rail usually operates from 8:30am to 12:30pm. However, the ministry arranged the trip for children from Agargaon to Uttara and Uttara to Agargaon in a special slot after 12:30pm outside the regular schedule.