Faridpur bus terminal: A nightmare for passengers

Faridpur Municipal Bus Terminal has turned out to be a nightmare for both the passengers and transport workers due to lack of renovation works for a long time. A little to moderate rains flood the entire bus terminal causing immense sufferings.

Bus staffers using the terminal said that poor drainage has added to their woes. Most of the drains have become clogged with garbage leading to waterlogging.

The situation is so abominable as human wastes from terminal toilets often float in the rainwaters and this problem is persistent for all the year round, they said.

Currently, 212 long haul buses and 173 minibuses leave the terminal for different destinations daily. However, due to low capacity of the terminal, more than 100 buses cannot be kept standby in the terminal, they added.

During a recent visit to the terminal, it was seen that the whole terminal has been plagued with small and large potholes filled with rainwaters.

Passengers, bus drivers and staffs have no choice but to walk through the puddle to get on or off the buses.

Md Saha Jalal, 46, a driver of Balaka Paribahan, said "The terminal was built on the west side of Dhaka-Barishal highway in Goalchamot area of Faridpur town 18 years ago. Just one and half years into its launching, cracks appeared on the terminal building. But no renovation work has been taken yet. Passengers and bus staffs often fall into the murky water on the terminal."

Another bus driver Badal Matubbar said "We face a lot of problems getting the buses in and out of the terminal. Sometimes bumpers of the bus break. It doesn't look like a bus terminal."

Mosharraf Hossain, a counter master of Faridpur District Bus Owners' Association, said that sometimes some bricks are laid to fill the holes. After two to three days, the bricks get unsettled. Small vehicles like battery-run easy bikes and rickshaws fall into the holes, leaving passengers in deep trouble.

Abdus Sabur Mia, a passenger of Rajbari-bound bus, said, "Getting on the bus is very troublesome for us. Women and children are the worst sufferers. We want a quick solution."

Hasina Yasmin, a passenger of a Magura-bound bas, said "It is awful for us to enter this terminal. We have to face difficulty getting on a bus with kids and bags."

Jobayar Zakir, president of Faridpur Motors Workers Union, said "The bus terminal is leased out annually. Every day the leaseholder gets Tk 20 from each bus. So, the lessees of the bus terminal have some responsibilities to repair the terminal."

Kamrul Islam Siddiqui, former president of the district bus owners' group, who has got the lease of the terminal for this fiscal year, said "I have leased this terminal from the 1st Baishakh. The previous leaseholders did not do anything regarding the matter. I will try to keep the terminal operational. The terminal belongs to the Faridpur municipality. It is their responsibility to repair it. I will sit with the municipal mayor on this issue."

Amitabh Bose, the mayor of Faridpur municipality, said that after taking charge in January 2021, he renovated the bus terminal at a cost of Tk 1.5 lakh.

"Due to lack of funds, we cannot not take any renovation work at this moment. But we will work to make the drainage system of the terminal operational," he said.