Kazirhat-Aricha Route: Ferry services set to commence this month
In a bid to reduce traffic on Bangabandhu Bridge over the Jamuna river, ferry services between Kazirhat in Pabna and Aricha in Manikganj are set to be launched this month.
Ferry services between Dhaka and Pabna had been suspended for years.
If the new services continue without any hitch, travel time for people commuting between Pabna and Gabtoli in Dhaka will come down considerably.
Currently, the distance between the two locations by road, via the Bangabandhu Bridge, is over 200 kilometres, whereas it is around 140 kilometres if the Kazirhat-Aricha ferry services are used. The distance between Kazirhat and Aricha ferry terminals is around 14 kilometres.
Zillur Rahman, deputy general manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), at Aricha river terminal, said construction of necessary infrastructure at both Kazirhat and Aricha terminals have already been completed and they are now ready to roll out the ferry services.
A test run on the route with trial ferry the Birshreshtha Motiur Rahman was conducted last week, with BIWTA chairman and high officials from BIWTA and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation on board.
The ferry services will likely be launched in the last week of February, added Zillur.
BIWTA Chairman Golam Md Sadek said although ferry services on this rout were supposed to be stopped after the opening of the Bangabandhu Bridge, it is being reintroduced by public demand.
The long-awaited services are now set to be in motion after issues relating to navigability and vessel availability were resolved, he said.
Sabbir Rahman, assistant manager at Kazirhat ferry terminal, said instead of going around via the Bangabandhu Bridge from Pabna to Dhaka or vice versa, people are more eager to save time and money by taking the ferry by travelling only 14 kilometres to and from Kazirhat and Aricha.
If the new ferry services are operated efficiently, most people will prefer the ferry route to travelling by road via the Bangabandhu Bridge, said Faruk Hossain, a bus driver from Dhaka.
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