Staff Reporter : Ferry services resumed on the Aricha-Kazirhat route on Saturday after 20 years. State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury inaugurated the ferry services on the route at Aricha point in Manikganj. The state minister said that the ferry service will be an alternative of Jamuna bridge from now. “Before constructing Jamuna bridge, the Aricha-Kazirhat route was connected with 16 districts of the North Bengal. It was suspended for two decades as the bridge was constructed. But nowadays the vehicles increased hugely. Goods carrying rose sharply. In such a circumstances, the government reopens the navigation route in the view of necessity,” Khalid Mahmud said. Ferry services on the Aricha-Kazirhat route remained suspended since 2001 due to poor navigability, according to the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority. BIWTA restored the navigability of the canal by dredging. Now the water is deep and the ferry can move effortlessly at this depth, the state minister added. The services on the route were reopened with one Ro-Ro ferry and two medium-sized ferries, officials said. They said that vehicles and commuters can now reach Kazirhat in just one and a half hours from Aricha point. It may take an hour and 20 minutes while the return journey. Manikganj-1 MP Naimur Rahman Durjoy and BIWTA Chairman Commodore Golam Sadeque, BIWTC Chairman Syed Mohammad Tajul Islam, Manikgonj Zil Parishad Chairman Advocate Golam Mohi Uddin, among others, were present at the inauguration ceremony. The State Minister travelled to Pabna with the ferry he inaugurated on the route and attended a meeting there. He described the usefulness of the reopened navigation route. Pabna-1 MP Samsul Huq Tuku, Pabna-2 MP Ahmed Firoz Kabir, Pabna-5 MP Golam Faruk Prince, among others, present the meeting.
