The river routes of Shimulia in Munshiganj, Banglabazar in Madaripur and Majhikandi in Shariatpur have been seeing huge crowds of homebound people since this morning.

There has been increased pressure of private cars and motorcycles, reports our Munshiganj correspondent.

On the other hand, the launch and speedboat terminals saw overflowing rush of passengers at Shimulia Ghat when the report was filed around 10am.

There are 10 ferries, 85 launches and 155 speedboats operating on this route.

Around 500 private vehicles and thousands of motorcycle are waiting to cross the river in Shimulia ghat area.

Meanwhile, the launch terminal is also full of passengers. They are waiting for hours to cross the river. Many people fell ill being under the scorching sun for hours while fasting. Water vessels were also seen carrying more passengers than their capacity.

Around 500 private vehicles were waiting at the Shimulia terminal to cross the river around 9.30am, said Faisal Ahmed, manager (trade) of BIWTC's Shimulia Ghat, adding that there are also thousands of motorcycles waiting for the ferry.   

There is excessive pressure of passengers at the launch terminal since morning, said Md Shahadat Hossain, assistant director of The Department of Maritime Security and Traffic Management of Shimulia River Port and assistant port and transport officer (additional charge).

"We are making every effort to keep the situation under control," he said.