Ferry movement resumes on Paturia-Daulatdia and Aricha-Kazirhat routes after 7.45 hours

Ferry movement resumes on Paturia-Daulatdia and Aricha-Kazirhat routes after 7.45 hours, Poor visibility caused by dense fog disrupted ferry movements for 7.45 hours on Paturia-Daulatdia and Aricha-Kazirhat routes early today, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) Paturia Ghat officials said.

Ferry movement resumes on Paturia-Daulatdia and Aricha-Kazirhat routes after 7.45 hours

“Dense fog blanketed the river routes, forcing us to suspend the ferry movements at around 1.45 am today (Thursday). The services were resumed seven and half hours later,” BIWTC’s deputy general manager Shah Mohammad Khaled Newaz said. He said at midnight after the fog density was increased and the routes appeared “almost invisible” when all of 17 ferries, which were to operate during the subsequent hours, were asked to remain stationed at terminals or on the midstream.

The official said two of the ferries Shaheed Barkat and Shah Enayetpuri, were stranded in the midstream of the Padma River in the Paturia–Daulatdia route with vehicles and passengers during the period, while Begum Sufia Kamal and Camelia on the Jamuna in Aricha-Kazirhat route. Officials said the fog simultaneously forced the suspension of movement of other vessels like engine-run country boats and launched both the river routes.

They said the visibility largely returned at about 9.00 am in the Paturia–Daulatdia route and at 9.25 am on the Aricha-Kazirhat route. Nawaz said the suspension of the ferry movements elongated queues of vehicles including passenger buseson all ends of the routes. DGM Newaz said BIWTC, deployed three big-sized Ro-Ro ones to clear the huge backlog of transports in a quicker time for the Paturia–Daulatdia route alongside its regular 12 ferries.