Plying of ferries on Shimulia-Banglabazar route resumes after 3 hours

PBC News:  Plying of ferries on Shimulia-Banglabazar waterway on the river Padma resumed at about 3:00pm on Thursday, three hours after suspension at about 12 noon due to inclement weather.

Since the authorities resumed the ferry operations, hundreds of people and vehicles on both the ends of the route had been waiting to cross the river.

“We have resumed ferry operations as the weather has improved,” said Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC)’s Shimulia Ghat manager (Commercial) Md Faisal.

He said some 250 vehicles were waiting at Shimulia end when plying of the ferries resumed.

BIWTC official sources said that over 500 vehicles were waiting at Banglabazar ghat during resumption of ferry movement at 3:00pm.

Officials said that the pressure on the ferry terminal increased as vehicles and passengers crossing the river using the route flouting the Covid restrictions increased from the previous days.

Hundreds of Dhaka-bound passengers are coming from Banglabazar Ghat to Shimulia Ghat, while south-westbound passengers are going to Banglabazar via Shimulia. However, the presence of Dhaka-bound passengers is more on the ferries than South Bengal-bound passengers.

Meanwhile, law enforcers have set up check posts to control the movement of passengers on the ferries. However, the passengers are showing various excuses to the law enforcement agencies to deny the restriction.

Again, passengers heading to Dhaka from Banglabazar to Shimuliaghat are walking for miles to reach their destination.

BIWTC official Faisal said that seven ferries were kept open for carrying vehicles outside the restriction but pressure of passengers on both the sides was higher on Thursday than that of Wednesday.