Staff Reporter :
Passengers from south and southwestern districts of the country have been facing untold sufferings as ferry services are being hampered on Shimulia-Kathalbari navigation route due to heavy current in the River Padma, particularly from Thursday morning.
The businessmen also facing huge losses as their perishable items like vegetables were being rotten after long time stuck due to the hindrance of the ferry services.
“A huge number of buses, trucks and other vehicles got stuck on both sides of the river. The ferries take four hours to cross the river instead of two hours due to the intense current,” said an official of Bangladesh Internal Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) preferring not to be named.
He also said 15 ferries out of 18 are now on active service. The rest three are in abandoned state due to mechanical faults, he said.
The official also claimed that a floating pump using for Padma Multipurpose Bridge, set-up in the entry point of the new ferry movement channel, is also causing the delay of the ferry service.
He said the BIWTC has requested the Bridge Authority to remove the floating pump to another place for the sake of smooth ferry crossing.
Passengers, Businessmen and officials said more than eight hundred transports got stuck on both sides of the ferry ghats since
Thursday morning. Most of the trucks are loaded with goods, including perishable ones.
The passengers have been suffering due to the long time wait for the ferry service to cross the river.
“Ferries cannot run with its normal speed due to the strong current. The ferries are now going long turning way through ‘Paler Char’. As a result, it takes double of the time,” said Gias Uddin Patwari, Manager (Commercial) of BIWTC.
Narrating the sufferings to journalists, passengers from Kathalbari ferry ghat said the elderly passengers, children and women suffering the most as they are compelled to wait hours after hours for a ferry service.
Passengers from south and southwestern districts of the country have been facing untold sufferings as ferry services are being hampered on Shimulia-Kathalbari navigation route due to heavy current in the River Padma, particularly from Thursday morning.
The businessmen also facing huge losses as their perishable items like vegetables were being rotten after long time stuck due to the hindrance of the ferry services.
“A huge number of buses, trucks and other vehicles got stuck on both sides of the river. The ferries take four hours to cross the river instead of two hours due to the intense current,” said an official of Bangladesh Internal Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) preferring not to be named.
He also said 15 ferries out of 18 are now on active service. The rest three are in abandoned state due to mechanical faults, he said.
The official also claimed that a floating pump using for Padma Multipurpose Bridge, set-up in the entry point of the new ferry movement channel, is also causing the delay of the ferry service.
He said the BIWTC has requested the Bridge Authority to remove the floating pump to another place for the sake of smooth ferry crossing.
Passengers, Businessmen and officials said more than eight hundred transports got stuck on both sides of the ferry ghats since
Thursday morning. Most of the trucks are loaded with goods, including perishable ones.
The passengers have been suffering due to the long time wait for the ferry service to cross the river.
“Ferries cannot run with its normal speed due to the strong current. The ferries are now going long turning way through ‘Paler Char’. As a result, it takes double of the time,” said Gias Uddin Patwari, Manager (Commercial) of BIWTC.
Narrating the sufferings to journalists, passengers from Kathalbari ferry ghat said the elderly passengers, children and women suffering the most as they are compelled to wait hours after hours for a ferry service.
