Homegoers suffer at Paturia ghat

Eid holidaymakers are going through immense sufferings as they keep waiting for hours in a long tailback of vehicles at Paturia ferry ghat in Manikganj.

Hundreds of vehicles on Dhaka-Aricha highway are waiting for their turn to get on board the ferry at Paturia ghat to cross the river, our Manikganj correspondent reports from the spot.

Such disruptive communication has already faded the joy of people from 19 districts who are on their way to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha with their near and dear ones.

“We started on a bus of Sakura Paribahan from Badda at 9:00am and reached Paturia ghat around 12noon. It is now 6:00pm and our bus is yet to get on board the ferry,” said Sabur Miya, a passenger who is travelling to Uzirpur of Barishal with his wife and two sons.

Abdullah Al Mamun, a passenger travelling to Khulna with his wife and infant son, said he started on a Sohag Paribahan bus from Dhaka at 8:00am and reached Paturia around 11:30am, but the bus was still stuck in tailback at Paturia ghat at 6:00pm.

Many other passengers and drivers made similar statements.

However, the pressure of vehicles at the ferry ghat was less today compared to yesterday.

Many passengers are seeking alternative means to cross the river, including launches and speedboats.

Talking to The Daily Star, Rifat Rahman, superintendent of Manikganj police, said that the passengers are suffering temporarily as many goods-laden trucks and unauthorised vehicles have arrived at the ferry ghat for cross-over, increasing the pressure of vehicles.

However, the problem will soon be mitigated in a few hours as district and highway police are working to this end, the SP said.

“A total of 20 ferries are operating on Paturia-Daulatdia route. There is no problem in ferry cross-over, but we are having a difficult time as there is a large number of vehicles at the ghat,” said Zillur Rahman, assistant director of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) at Aricha office.

Many passengers have also alleged that they had to pay extra bus fare -- Tk 400 to Tk 500 instead of Tk 120 -- to go to Paturia from Gabtoli.