Shift terminal to save it from Padma erosion

Daulatdia ferry terminal in Rajbari's Goalanda is under serious threat of being entirely devoured by the mighty Padma river, says BIWTC, which supervises ferry service at the terminal.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation has suggested shifting the terminal to a safer place.  

Ferry service on the Paturia-Daulatdia route has been hampered since 2013, as river erosion is damaging ferry landing stations at the terminal. 

In the last three months, all its four landing stations were affected four to five times, causing untold suffering for the people of 21 south and south-western districts wanting to cross the river.

Shafiqul Islam, manager (commerce) of BIWTC at Daulatdia ghat, said the approach road of landing station-4 was eroded on Saturday and it was closed later. The landing station-2 was damaged earlier. Two of the four landing stations were now operational.

Thousands of people from the south and south-western districts returning to Dhaka after Eid-ul-Azha vacation have to wait at the terminal for hours to get ferries as the two landing stations have gone out of service.

Ferry service on the Paturia-Daulatdia route had been suspended for six days since August 6, as three landing stations at Daulatdia were damaged by river erosion.

Nijam Uddin Pathan, executive engineer of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), which supervises the ferry terminal, said the Roads and Highways Department and BIWTA were struggling to tackle the erosion by dumping sandbags at the affected points.

Sheikh Mohammad Nasim, deputy general manager of BIWTC, said they had been calling upon the BIWTA to shift the terminal to a safer place for the last three years.

The Daulatdia ferry terminal is situated at the mouth of the two major rivers -- Padma and Jamuna. It is under serious threat of being eroded. It should be relocated to a safer place immediately to keep the ferry service normal, he said.

"We wrote many times to the BIWTA authorities after 2013 to shift the ferry terminal to a safer place. But they have not taken any initiative to this end yet," he said.

Foyej Ullah, president of BIWTC workers' union of Aricha unit, said Daulatdia ferry terminal should be moved to a safer place soon. He suggested shifting it to Kathalbari Akkas Ali Junior School area, half a kilometre from the Daulatdia ferry terminal. 

This correspondent recently visited the Kathalbari area and found acres of higher ground, which is char land.

The BIWTA could easily set up four to five landing stations there without acquiring land, he said. 

Locals said the terminal was there before 1990. The BIWTA moved the terminal to Daulatdia to reduce distance.

Abdus Sattar, manager (marine) of BIWTC at Aricha office, said the distance between Paturia and Daulatdia is currently about four kilometres. The distance would be reduced by over half a kilometre if the terminal is relocated to the Kathalbari old terminal.

Asked why they have not taken any step for shifting the terminal after getting the BIWTC letters, Abdus Salam, joint director of BIWTA at Aricha office, said, "We are thinking about shifting the Daulatdia ferry terminal to a safer place. But it will take time because it depends on the department's decision and land acquisition."

"A decision will be made in this regard at an inter-ministerial meeting of the shipping ministry to be held soon," the BIWTA official hoped.