A shortage of ferries and strong currents at the Padma river is hampering ferry services on the Paturia-Daulatdia route for the last seven days.

Hundreds of vehicles have been stuck at Paturia of Manikganj and Daulatdia of Rajbari district for the last few days, our Manikganj correspondent reports.

Paturia-Daulatdia is the main river route between the capital Dhaka and the south and south-western districts of the country. The ferries cannot move normally due to strong currents in the river.

The ferries are often going out of operation as they have to move against the heavy current. Of the 16 ferries, four to five have to be repaired in the floating workshop at Paturia Ghat, our correspondent reports quoting Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) office sources.

Passenger and vehicles are now crossing on six Ro Ro, four utility and 2 K-Type ferries, BIWTC's engineer Subal Kumar Biswas said.