Erosion halts ferry service in Shimulia
Ferry services at the Shimulia ferry terminal point have completely been halted since Friday night as river erosion has taken a devastating turn.
At least 10 acres of land, a shop and some other structures were devoured by the Padma between Friday night and yesterday morning.
Villagers hit by erosion were seen moving to safe shelters for their survival.
Around 20 families, along with their belongings and valuables, have had to move said Hazrat Ali Sheikh, a resident of Shimulia village.
Locals and officials concerned said the ferry terminal is facing the risk of destruction due to erosion.
Normally, 15 ferries ply on Shimulia-Kathalbari route -- one of the major gateway of southern district. But the services were facing disruption over the last couple of months due to strong currents and navigability crisis.
Amid such a situation, authorities concerned were forced to shut down the services since September 3 for the same reason.
Later on Friday afternoon, the services were resumed but the ferries were facing difficulties while plying.
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), the government body to operate the services, then decided to operate five small ferries and shut down the operations of large RO-RO ferries due to navigability crisis.
Later at night, the ferry terminal saw havoc due to erosion, said government officials concerned.
"If this situation continues, it would be difficult to protect the terminal," said Harif Ahmed, deputy assistant engineer of BIWTA.
The government's other body, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), responsible for maintenance of ferry terminals was contacted. Their assistant manager Prafulla Chauhan said operations of large RO-RO ferries have been shut down due to navigability crisis and strong currents.
Meanwhile, around 50 vehicles are waiting at the Shimulia ferry terminal to cross the river. However, there is a huge flow of people, who were crossing the river by launches and speed boats.
However, ferry services on another major route Paturai-Daulatdia were normal yesterday, said officials concerned.
Abdus Sattar, assistant general manager (Marine) of BIWTC Aricha Regional Office, said 16 of the 19 ferries are in operation on this route.
"However, we are facing huge pressure of vehicles as ferry operations on the Shimulia-Kathalbari route is facing disruption," he told The Daily Star, yesterday afternoon.
(Our Manikganj correspondent contributed to the story.)
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