Ferry service disruption not over

People are facing immense sufferings as they have to wait at Daulatdia and Paturia ferry terminals for hours to cross the Padma. Ferry service has been hampering on the route since Wednesday due to shortage of ferry.

About 5km tailback was seen on the Daulatdia side in Rajbari's Goalanda around 1:00pm Thursday, while around 2km traffic jam was seen on the Paturia side in Manikganj.

According to the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), 13 out of 21 ferries are currently operating on Paturia-Daulatdia route as six have broken down and two others have been taken elsewhere.

Zillur Rahman, manager (commerce) of BIWTC's Aricha office, said 19 ferries had been in operation on the route before Eid-ul-Azha.

After the Eid, vehicles that usually used Shimulia-Kathalbari route to cross the river started to use the Paturia-Daulatdia route because ferry service on the Shimulia-Kathalbari route was disrupted due to poor navigability.

For this reason, the flow of vehicles began to increase at Paturia and Daulatdia ferry terminals. To deal with the situation, the BIWTC brought two ferries to the route from Shimulia-Kathalbari route.

On Monday, the BIWTC took back Ro-Ro ferry Enayetpuri and utility ferry Camellia to the Shimulia-Kathalbari route as the route became normal.

Besides, Ro-Ro ferries Khan Jahan Ali and Shah Ali and small ferry Kopoti have been sent to Narayanganj dockyard for repairing.

K-type ferry Kumari and Ro-Ro ferries -- Bir Shreshtha Hamidur Rahman and Shah Jalal -- are being repaired at the floating workshop at Paturia.

Meanwhile, ferry service on Paturia-Daulatdia route was also disrupted for more than two weeks before and after the Eid due to strong currents in the river.