Truckers raise allegations of ferry ticket scalping
With the ferry shortage persisting on Paturia-Daulatdia route and vehicles waiting longer periods on both sides of the Padma River, some people are taking money from truckers at the Paturia end to help them jump the queue, several truckers alleged yesterday.
Truck driver Sorhab Ali said he reached Paturia on Thursday afternoon but many truckers in line behind him had already crossed the river. He added that those who were giving extra money were getting the ferry tickets.
Another trucker, Shah Alam, said he could not buy the ticket because he refused to pay an additional Tk 1,000. The price of the ticket was Tk 1,060, but some brokers asked for Tk 2,000, he alleged.
Truck driver Biltu Hossain said he was asked to give Tk 2,500 for a Tk 1,460 ticket.
Two other truck drivers Shaharul and Abdul Khalek raised the same allegations, while speaking of the untold sufferings they were facing due to long waits.
Assistant General Manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) at Aricha office Jillur Rahman denied the allegation of taking extra money from the truckers.
He said passenger buses and trucks carrying perishable items were getting priority to board the ferries, so it was taking longer for other trucks to cross the river.
A huge tailback was created on Wednesday noon at Paturia in Manikganj and Daulatdia in Rajbari after six ferries out of the 18 operating on the route went out of order. Later one was renovated and joined the fleet, but it barely mitigated people's sufferings.
Moreover, strong currents are forcing the ferries to take twice as long for each trip, said Mohiuddin Rasel, manager (commerce) at Aricha office of BIWTC. He said the number of vehicles crossing the river every day was reduced to half due to the ferry shortage and strong currents.
An estimated 4,500 vehicles make the crossing daily.
Meanwhile, thousands of passengers from 17 south-western districts of the country, heading for Dhaka, were experiencing immense sufferings due to the tailbacks.
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