Padma poised to spoil Eid
Eid holidaymakers en route to south and southwestern districts might have to put up with hours of delays if two out-of-service ferry landing stations at Daulatdia ferry terminal are not made operational soon.
This is feared as passengers endured lengthy delays yesterday after three out of the four ferry landing stations at the terminal remained closed due to erosion by the Padma.
However, the authorities managed to resume ferry services at a landing station around 7:00pm yesterday, just a month after it was eroded by the river.
Witnesses said at least 10-kilometre-long tailbacks were created at Daulatdia and Paturia ferry terminals since early yesterday. Hundreds of vehicles, including buses and trucks, were stranded on both sides of the river.
It took a vehicle up to 10 hours to cross the Padma which is normally around an hour's trip.
Passengers, particularly women and children, suffered the most due to poor toilet facilities and inadequate food and drinking water at the terminals.
Officials at the terminals said passengers' sufferings might aggravate ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, which falls on September 13, when people would start leaving the capital to celebrate the festival with their near and dear ones.
It would take time to make the two ferry landing stations operative due to the erosion and strong currents in the mighty river, added officials.
Abdus Sattar, manager (marine) of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) at Aricha, said it would be very tough to keep ferry services normal during Eid holidays as the number of vehicles would increase significantly.
Around 3,500 vehicles ply the Paturia-Daulatdia route daily and it would increase up to 6,500 ahead of Eid, he said.
PASSENGERS SUFFER
Ayesha Khatun along with her two children and mother was traveling to Khulna on a bus of Royal Prabahan.
Talking to The Daily Star around 6:20pm yesterday, she said she started from Gabtoli at 8:00am and reached Paturia within two hours. But she had been waiting at the terminal since then.
“We don't know when we will be able to cross the river as our bus is not moving an inch,” said a worried Ayesha.
Like her, Chuadanga-bound passenger Tanzina Tanzin, Magura-bound Abdur Rahim and Meherpur-bound Abid Hasan expressed frustration over the delay after remaining stranded at Paturia for around nine hours.
Ferry services on Daulatdia-Paturia route have been disrupted since mid-July due to damages caused to landing stations at Daulatdia by erosion.
Shipping Secretary Ashoke Madhab Roy said his ministry deployed all the BIWTA engineering staff at Daulatdia terminal to make the ferry landing stations operative again.
“Hopefully we'll be able to resume services at all the ferry landing stations before Eid,” he said, adding that vacations of BIWTA officials have been cancelled.
The officials have been asked to stay at Paturia and Daulatdia ferry ghtas to deal with any developing situation, the secretary told The Daily Star.
Asked if the ministry would seek help from the Bangladesh Army to this end, he said: “We are trying our best. If we fail, we might think of involving other agencies in the job.”
Ashoke said they advised passengers and bus operators to use Bangabandhu Bridge instead of Paturia-Daulatdia route to avoid sufferings.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said they assured the shipping ministry of providing mega dredgers, which were being using at the Padma bridge construction sites, to dredge the river near the ferry landing stations on an emergency basis.
“I have talked to the shipping minister and assured him of providing any kind of assistance from our ministry,” he added.
About his ministry's plan to deal with home rush, Quader said they were working relentlessly to facilitate smooth journeys for holidaymakers.
“Around 1,000 volunteers would be deployed alongside police and ministry officials to manage the flow of traffic,” he said.
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