Thousands of home-bound commuters have thronged the Paturia ferry terminal since the early hours of Sunday in their desperate bid to cross the Padma river ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr. Hundreds of vehicles, mostly buses, microbuses and private cars, with people on board also remain stranded at the ferry ghat, triggering a 3km tailback in the area. An official said these people and vehicles have been waiting to board ferries on the Paturia-Daulatdia route, with Eid holidays beginning on Sunday. "At least 200 buses are stranded at the terminal," he said. While the highway police are controlling vehicular movement in the gridlocked ferry terminal area, the river police are ensuring that the ferries are not taking in passengers beyond their capacities. READ: Chaos at Paturia ghat as 300 cars wait to cross Padma  

Hundreds of vehicles waiting to cross the Padma river remain stranded at the Paturia ferry ghat, triggering a 3km tailback in the area. These vehicles, mostly buses, microbuses and private cars, have been stranded at the ferry ghat since the small hours of Saturday, causing immense sufferings to those on board. Officials said that these vehicles have been waiting to board ferries on the busy Paturia-Daulatdia route. "At least 3,000 home-bound people are also waiting to cross the Padma river," an official said. To tackle the chaotic situation at the terminal, the ferries are taking in passengers beyond their capacities. READ: Chaos at Paturia ghat as 300 cars wait to cross Padma Md Shah Newaz, deputy general manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), said already the movement of goods-laden vehicles on this route has been suspended.  "Only those vehicles stuck for several days in the ghat area are being allowed to cross the river. We may add one more ferry to cater to the mad rush," he said. Golam Azad Khan, superintendent of Manikganj Police, said that additional police force has been deployed at the ghat to help control vehicular movement and maintain discipline in the terminal area. Currently, 21 ferries are operating on the Paturia-Daulatdia route to tackle the huge pressure of vehicles and passengers.

A serpentine queue of vehicles has triggered chaos at Paturia ferry ghat in Manikganj. Since morning, over 300 private vehicles, mostly cars, have been waiting in line at the popular ferry ghat to cross the Padma river ahead of Eid. Also read: Mad rush of homebound people at Shimulia ferry ghat Private cars are stranded in the Tepra area of Dhaka-Aricha highway, 10 kms ahead of Paturia terminal. There's a separate lane at ferry terminal no-5 for these vehicles. Besides, around 100 buses and 100 trucks are also waiting at the terminal to cross the river, although the movement of all goods-laden trucks will remain suspended for three days ahead of Eid. These trucks have been stranded at the terminal for the last three days and so the authorities are letting these heavy vehicles cross the river, said Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) DGM Shah Md Khaled Newaz. Also read:Paturia ghat sees huge crowd; Passengers suffer as 2 ferries remain inoperative “If the pressure of vehicles increases further, more ferries could be pressed into service," said DGM Khaled. Meanwhile, the authorities concerned of the ferry terminal are struggling a lot to manage the huge rush of home-bound people as 19 ferries of 21 ferries are currently operating on the Paturia-Daulatdia route.

With five days left before Eid-ul-Fitr, Paturia ferry terminal authorities in Manikganj struggle to handle huge rush of passengers, vehicles heading towards 21 South-Western districts of the country. Amid the mad rush of homebound people, two of the 19 ferries- Birsreshtha Ruhul Amin and Enayetpuri- on this route went out of order, increasing the sufferings of passengers. Also read: New ferry terminal to be launched before Eid to ease holidaymakers’ journey Three other ferries that also went out of order earlier are now operating again on the route after temporary maintenance, said Shahnewaj, Deputy General Manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) Aricha sector. He said on Tuesday some 500 trucks, private vehicles, buses remained waiting in queues for their turn to cross the river. Private cars, microbuses need to wait for two to three hours to cross the river, claimed the passengers.  They alleged that due to excessive goods-laden trucks other vehicles have to wait for a longer period. Also read:Ferry services resume on Paturia-Daulatdia route after 4 hours BIWTA DGM Shahnewaj said, ”The ferries went out of order due to relentless services for the last few days but within the next two days two more ferries will start operation.” Additional Deputy Inspector General Zihadul Kabir after visiting Paturia Ghat said police along with other law enforcement agencies will work actively to keep the terminal jam-free and ensure safe journey of holidaymakers.

Hundreds of buses, cars and trucks have remained stranded at Paturia Ghat since Thursday night due to the onrush of homebound people ahead of a two-day vacation from Friday. Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) sources said over 700 vehicles including private vehicles, passenger buses, and trucks remained stranded at Paturia Ghat, causing immense suffering to people. Read: Ferry services resume on Paturia-Daulatdia route after 4 hours Abdus Salam, assistant general manager (AGM) of BIWTC Aricha regional office, said Paturia ferry terminal area has witnessed a heavy rush of vehicles heading southwest since Friday morning. Vehicles have to wait for hours for ferries to cross the river. Nineteen small and large ferries were operating to ease the traffic, he added. Vehicles carrying passengers and emergency goods are getting priority to get on board. The regular cargo trucks will have to wait a bit longer, he said. Read: Ferry capsizes at Paturia dock A large number of people are heading home because of two holidays, including the Independence Day on March 26.

A 40-kilometer tailback was created on Dhaka-Aricha highway on Friday, causing huge sufferings and anxiety to Eid holidaymakers and Dhaka-bound cattle traders.