Lack of ferry service plagues locals

Parvez Anowar, a businessperson, was seen washing mud from his legs at Kumira Ghat in Chattogram. He just reached there after having to tread through muddy water at Guptachhara Ghat in Sandwip upazila to get on a boat.

"Those of us who have to commute between Sandwip and Chattogram daily are compelled to go through such mishaps regularly in absence of a ferry service on the route," he said.

"I don't know if our misery will ever end," Parvez, a resident of Kalapania union in the island, said.

His case is not an isolated one, as hundreds of commuters on the naval route have to face similar ordeal every day.

More than five lakh people from the island are largely dependent on boats for reaching Chattogram through the Sandwip channel.

Many of the commuters alleged that ruling party-backed syndicates during every government's tenure have always resorted to do business by forcing exorbitant fares from passengers on the route.

The fragile communication facilities from the island to mainland, accidents that occur, and the miseries of the people often made headlines over the years.

At least 18 people drowned after a passenger boat capsized on the route in 2017.

Arefin Chowdhury, a regular commuter, said he often has to cancel his journey during monsoon as the water becomes turbulent.

"A ferry service could have mitigated our hassles and provided safety during our commute," he added.

To ease the peoples' sufferings, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority took initiative to launch a ferry service between Sandwip and Chattogram around two years back.

A committee was formed on September 5, 2022 to conduct feasibility and estimate cost of the project. It finalised the river route from Bakkhali to Gachhua on September 29 of the same year and submitted a report to the shipping ministry in this regard.

Since then, however, the project has been in limbo.

No step has yet been made by BIWTA to implement the project.

After the resignation of the Awami League government on August 5, a new committee was formed on August 19 to revive the initiative.

Kamruzzaman, member secretary of the committee and deputy director (ports and transport) of BIWTA in Chattogram, informed that they are primarily assessing three existing routes -- Kumira-Guptachhara, Bakkhali-Gachhua, and Domkhali-Santoshpur.

Of the three routes, Kumira-Guptachhara is the one mostly used by commuters between Sandwip and Chattogram.

"We have already visited Kumira-Guptachhara ghat area and decided to visit the spot again soon," he added.