Call it the Eid travel rush at the Barishal ferry terminal, as hundreds of people have begun travelling to their hometowns to celebrate the festival. Some 23 ferries have been anchored at the Barishal terminal since Friday midnight as authorities have started special services for Eid holidays. On Thursday, each of these ferries carried 4,000 passengers from Dhaka to Barishal, according to the terminal authorities. Also read: Smoke in Barishal-bound launch creates panic among passengers According to the authorities, Rajarhat B was the first vessel to reach Barishal from the capital's Sadarghat around 1am, followed by Royal Cruise, Pubali 7, Farhan 7, Manami, Red Sun, Parbat 10, Prince Awlad 10, Kuakata 2, Sundarban 11 and Surovi 8.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) will construct another ferry terminal at Mongol Majhi ghat of the Zajira-Shimulia route in a bid to ease traffic movement ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr. Commodore Golam Sadeq, chairman of BIWTA, said this new ferry ghat will be opened to the public on April 28 considering the rush of  home goers during Eid festival.   Also read:Two drown, 3 missing as ferry sinks off Barishal coast The BIWTA chief told reporters this week the Mongol Majhi ghat will be shifted to another place to construct a new ghat and ease the pressure of vehicular movement. Earlier, he exchanged views with the local public representatives, upazila administration, law enforcement agencies and civil societies to examine the feasibility to construct the ghat.   Besides introducing a new ghat, BIWTA has decided to run ferries on the Banglabazar-Shimulia route at night. At present, three ferries ply on the route from 7am-5pm to avert a collision with the Padma Bridge. According to BIWTA and BIWTC, ferry services started at Sattar Madbor and Mongol Majhi ghat of Zajira in December last year as alternative ghat as ferries had hit pillars 16 and 17 of Padma Bridge on July 20 and 23 and pillar 10 on August 9, 2021. On August 25, BIWTA and BIWTC had jointly constructed a new ferry ghat Mongol Majhi ghat to ensure emergency services. However, the ghat was unused due to a lack of navigability in the river till December.   The new ferry ghat will be constructed by shifting Mongol Majhi ghat to 400 metres far from the existing place.   Golam Sadeq said, "We have a time limitation. We instructed people concerned to open the ghat for vehicular movement from April 28 by completing the construction work of the ghat. Hope, the construction work will be started within a day or two in Zajira." Also read:Ferry services resume on Paturia-Daulatdia route after 4 hours He also said BITWA has increased the number of ghats to ensure the carrying of the passengers during disaster-prone weather. "Movement of ferries will be kept normal during Eid on Shimulia-Majhirghat and Shimulia-Banglabazar route. Banglabazar ferry ghat will be closed permanently and Majhirghat will be a modern one by renovation after the inauguration of the Padma Bridge," Golam added.    

Several commuters had a narrow escape after a ferry carrying them crashed into a pier of the Padma bridge on Friday morning. The accident occurred when the K-type ferry, named Kakoli, was heading towards Shimlulia ghat in Munshiganj district from Banglabazar ghat in Madaripur. "Around 7am, the ferry hit pier number 10 shedding a portion of concrete of the pile cap," executive engineer (main bridge) Dewan Abdul Kader told UNB. Also read: Ferry hits Padma Bridge pillar: BIWTC forms probe committee Though the vessel was partially damaged, there has been no structural damage to the bridge. "But frequent ferry accidents are really concerning," Dewan said.

With only two days left for Eid ul Azha, homebound people started leaving the capital for home overcrowding Shimulia ferry terminal on Sunday to cross the River Padma ignoring the risk of Covid-19 transmission. Currently, 15 of the 19 ferries and 84 launches, out of 87, are moving on this route. All the ferries are not operating due to strong current in the river while authorities did not allow the operation of three launches for not having their updated documents, said the terminal authorities. Also read: Ferry services only for ambulances, goods-laden vehicles Being unable to control the unusual pressure of vehicles and passengers, authorities brought two more ferries – ‘Kakoli’ and ‘Kolmilata’ from Chandpur to deal with the pressure but the queues of stranded trucks and other vehicles are getting longer and longer.

Amid mad rush of homebound people ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, five people died in stampede and heatstroke at Banglabazar ferry terminal on Wednesday. Banglabazar Traffic Police Inspector Ashikur Rahman said a teenage boy was killed in a stampede while getting off Shah Paran ferry. The deceased was identified as Anchur,15, son of Giasuddin Madbor of Noria upazila of Shariatpur. Also read: Covid-19 claims 40 more lives, infects 1,144 others Four others died due to heatstroke and stampede while boarding off Enayetpuri ferry at the same terminal, he said. Sources said that lakhs of people have crossed the Padma River on ferries since morning. All the 17 ferries are operating to cater to the mad rush of homebound people. Some 800 vehicles and 10,000 people have crossed the river till Wednesday noon, officials said. Also read: BGB deployed on Paturia-Daulatdia, Shimulia-Banglabazar routes Authorities, meanwhile, claimed that people will not face any difficulties in crossing rivers as ferry services are available. The UNB correspondent found hundreds of people reaching the Daulatdia-Paturia ghat in the afternoon on foot, in rickshaws and other vehicles, defying all the lockdown norms. Police have installed a number of check-posts on the highway, including Barbaria, Singair and Dhalla areas. Though the cops forced many vehicles coming from other districts to return, passengers were quick to get off the vehicles and head towards the ferry ghat on foot. Also read: Mad rush of homebound people at Paturia terminal Ferry services on Paturia-Daulatdia and Shimulia-Banglabazar routes were suspended to curb the spread of Covid-19. Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) said the decision to suspend ferry services on the two busy water routes, with effect from Saturday morning, was taken in the wake of the ongoing second wave of coronavirus. But the mad rush of homebound people forced them to resume the ferry services.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) teams have been deployed on the Paturia-Daulatdia and Shimulia-Banglabazar routes in Manikganj and Munshiganj from tonight to stop the mad rush of homebound people. Md Shariful Islam, Public relations officer of the  BGB headquarters confirmed the development to UNB. He warned that strict actions will be taken against those gathering at the ferry terminals despite suspension on water vessels plying  from tomorrow. Earlier today, Paturia ferry terminal saw a mad rush of homebound people ahead of Eid despite a so-called decision of  Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) to suspend  daytime ferry services. Also read: Ferry services suspended to contain spread of Covid BIWTC took the decision late Friday night to suspend daytime ferry services on Paturia-Daulatdia and Shimulia-Banglabazar routes from Saturday morning as per government instructions to curb the spread of coronavirus infection ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr. However, three ferries were selected to transport ambulances and hearse vehicles. While visiting Paturia ferry terminal early Saturday morning, the UNB correspondent saw flocks of people stranded there, completely unaware of the hastily made late night decision of BIWTC. Although some of them were forced to return, hundreds of passengers continued to hold their ground in an attempt to celebrate Eid with the loved ones at any cost. Also read: Mad rush of homebound people at Paturia terminal When an ambulance carrying a dead body was getting into the Madhobilota, a ferry kept for emergency situations, hundreds of these people forced themselves onto it. The same incident happened with two other ferries anchored at separate terminals of Paturia. After a few hours, two of those ferries, carrying hundreds of people, left the terminals and this was more or less the entire story of the day, which means the late night suspension of BIWTC has proved insufficient. However, Jillur Rahman, deputy general manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) Aricha office said, “At all times the plying of water vessels has been suspended following BIWTC’s decision. Only three ferries  are operational for emergency use. But we are facing difficulties in operating them because of excessive pressure by people wanting to get in.”