It is sad that accidents have taken place with ferries hitting piers of the country’s largest Padma Bridge one after another before its completion and opening. Media reports in national dailies on Saturday said that a ferry, named Kakoli, hit pier number 10 of the bridge again on Friday morning. This was the second such incident of ferry hitting the bridge’s piers in four days and fourth within a month. The ferry was on its way to Shimulia ghat in Louhajang of Munshiganj from Banglabazar Ghat of Madaripur, said sources at the Bangladesh Inland Water transport Corporation (BIWTC).
Earlier on August 9, according to the reports, Ro Ro ferry, Birshreshtha Jahangir, hit the same pier of the bridge on its way from Banglabazar ghat to Shimulia ghat. Before that, another Ro Ro ferry, Shahjalal, dashed against pier No. 17 on July 23. On July 20, another ferry, Shah Makhdum, was damaged as it hit a pier of the bridge. Padma Bridge authorities however said the piers of the structure have not been affected by the accidents caused by the ferries. The design of the bridge has been made such that piers or the structure of the bridge will not be affected even if a vessel of 4,000 tonnes capacity hits it. The weight of the ferries plying on the route is about 1,000 tonnes.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) officials, admitted after the accidents that even if the piers were not affected, there would be a big loss if any ferry overturned after such an accident. Many people could have died. So, BIWTC is mulling the relocation of the Banglabazar ferry terminal to another area as ferries continue to hit the piers of the bridge. Operators of the ferries have said the accidents occurred due to strong current of the river. The BIWTC blames the officials of the ferries as incompetent. The question is why are they engaging incompetent people to operate ferries on a vital route where the Padma Bridge is located?
We want to say that the Padma Bridge must be protected from such accidents which also endanger the security of passengers and vehicles carried by the ferries. The government must take all possible measures so that ferries or other river vessels do not cause such accidents anymore. In developed countries, speed of vessels is controlled by setting up traffic lights under big bridges. A similar system can be considered here. We have to introduce such technology so that ferries and other river vessels maintain distance while cruising near the bridge.
