Ferry services on Paturia-Daulatdia and Aricha-Kazirhat routes resumed on Monday morning, after 11 hours of disruption caused by thick fog. Shah Md. Khaled Nawaz, deputy general manager (Commercial) of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), said ferry services remained suspended from 11 pm on Sunday due to poor visibility and those resumed around 10 am today. Read more: Ferry services on Chandpur -Shariatpur route resume after 8 hours Three ferries remained stranded in the middle of the Padma river and operation of 11 more ferries was cancelled on the routes, he said. About 300 vehicles also got stuck on both sides of the river due to the suspension of the ferry services, said the official.

Ferry services on the Paturia-Daulatdia and Aricha-Kazirhat routes resumed this morning, after 11 hours of disruption caused by thick fog. Ferry service on Paturia-Daulatdia route remained suspended from 10:30 pm on Saturday due to poor visibility. Services resumed around 9 am today, said Shah Md Khaled Nawaz, deputy general manager (Commercial) of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) at Aricha point. Read more: Ferry services on Daulatdia-Paturia route resume after 6 hours Meanwhile, ferry service on the Aricha-Kazirhat route was suspended from 9:30 pm last night and resumed at 9:30 am this morning as fog started to dissipate. Four ferries on Paturia-Daulatdia and two on Aricha-Kazirhat routes were stranded in the middle of the Padma. Over 300 small and large vehicles were seen waiting on both sides to cross the river, causing immense suffering for the passengers amidst the cold, the BIWTC official added. Read more: Dense fog disrupts Daulatdia-Paturia ferry services

Manikganj's Paturia ghat has been witnessing a huge rush since Friday morning, as thousands from Dhaka head home to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha with their near and dear ones.   However, the number of people and vehicles at the ferry ghat is less than previous years, with several people from the southern and southwestern regions preferring buses plying via Padma Bridge over water vessels.   On the other hand, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) is monitoring the traffic in the ghat area. A total of 20 ferries are currently operating of 21 vessels.   Read: Chaos at Paturia ghat as 300 cars wait to cross Padma   According to Shah Khaled Newaz, deputy general manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), Aricha region, the pressure of passengers has increased since morning.   Around 6,000-7,000 vehicles, including 3,600 bikes, have crossed the Padma river through Paturia ghat in the past 24 hours.   Manikganj superintendent of police Golam Azad Khan said that additional police force has been deployed in the ghat area to maintain law and order. "CCTV cameras have also been set up."

Ferry services on the busy Paturia-Daulatdia route have been severely disrupted owing to strong current in the Padma since Friday morning. The disruption has triggered a serpentine queue of vehicles at Paturia ferry ghat in Manikganj. Since morning, hundreds of vehicles, including 300 trucks, have been waiting at the ferry ghat to cross the river. Read: Ferry services resume on Shimulia-Majhirkandi route after 7 hours Ferries are taking more time to reach their destinations due to the strong river current with the rise of water in the Padma, said Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation's (BIWTC) Aricha sector DGM Sheikh Shah Newaz. Besides, ferry services on the Shimulia-Kathalbari route are closed, as a result of which vehicles of that route have thronged this ghat. "Some 400 vehicles are stuck in the terminal area on both sides," he said. Read: BIWTC announces 20pc rise in ferry, ship fare A 3-4km tailback of trucks has been created on the highway of the Paturia ghat area, as commuter buses are prioritised to cross the river first, said the BIWTC official. At present, 18 of 21 ferries are in service on the Paturia-Daulatdia route, he added.

Ferry services on the Paturia-Daulatdia route has been severely hampered due to strong current in the Padma since Sunday morning. Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) Aricha Sector Manager Mohiuddin Russell said it takes more time for the ferries to reach their destinations due to strong current with the rise of water in the Padma. Also read:Ferry services resume on Shimulia-Majhirkandi route after 7 hours As a result, more than 400 vehicles have been stuck in the terminal area, he added. Hundreds of buses, private cars and microbuses and 300 trucks were stranded at Paturia terminal to cross the river. Three to four kilometers long tailback of trucks were created on the highway at Sari Ghat area. Also read: Two ferries collide in Padma; 1 killed Meanwhile, the pontoons of the ferry have been shifted from low to medium level. And if the water level increases by only two centimeters, the pontoons will have to be taken to the upper level, said the BIWTC official. At present, 17 out of 19 ferries are on service on  Paturia-Daulatdia route.

Commuters heaved a sigh of relief Friday morning, with the authorities resuming ferry services on the busy Paturia-Daulatdia route after a four-hour suspension due to dense fog. The ferry services on the route were halted around 2.30 am owing to poor visibility due to dense fog but resumed around 7am, said Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) officials. Due to the suspension, two ferries got stranded in the middle of the Padma River, said Abdus Salam, Aricha sector manager of BIWTC. Also read: Fog forces Shimulia port authorities to suspend ferry services "The ferries returned safely to the terminal after the fog cleared. And 13 ferries waiting at the terminal also started operating," he said. Meanwhile, due to the disruption of the ferry services, the Paturia terminal witnessed a long tailback of vehicles. At least 200 night coaches, 150 private cars, and 400 goods laden trucks and other vehicles had to wait for crossing the river. Also read: Dense fog disrupts Paturia-Daulatdia ferry services

Commuters waiting to cross the Padma river had a harrowing time on Wednesday morning, with the authorities suspending ferry services on the Paturia-Daulatdia route due to dense fog. Mohiuddin Rassel, manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), said the ferry services were halted from 1.30am owing to poor visibility. As a result, at least four ferries -- Barkot, Jahangir, Enayetpury and Rajanigandha -- remained stranded in the middle of the Padma river, he added. Read: Sunken ferry Amanat Shah salvaged after 14 days The BIWTC official also said 12 more ferries were cancelled on both sides of the route. Several hundred vehicles also got stuck on both sides of the river due to the suspension of the ferry services, he added. ‘’The services will resume once visibility increases," he said.

As Eid holidays are over, now thousands of holidaymakers from south-western districts overcrowded the ferry terminals in a bid to return to Dhaka to join their workplaces. They are flocking to Paturia-Daulatdia and Shimulia-Banglabazar ferry ghats to cross the river and reach the capital as offices reopened on Sunday following a three-day vacation. The returnees seemed hardly concerned about maintaining hygiene rules although there is an alarming Covid surge in neighbouring India and Nepal. Read: BGB personnel keep watch on Covid safety protocols at Shimulia ferry ghat The detection of a deadlier Indian variant of virus in Bangladesh has also raised serious concerns here in recent days. UNB Munshiganj correspondent says microbus, cars and auto-rickshaws are charging extra fares from passengers as public transport services remained suspended as part of the government restrictions to stem the transmission of coronavirus. AGM of Bangladesh Inland water transport Authority (BIWTA) Shafiqul Islam said ferry services are in operation to carry vehicles providing emergency services even though public transport services have been suspended. “People are now returning to Dhaka and adjacent districts through the overcrowded ferries without maintaining social distancing or wearing masks, raising the risks of virus transmission,” he said.  

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.”

Amid a mad rush of home-bound people ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, ferry services on Paturia-Daulatdia and Shimulia-Banglabazar routes have been 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.   However, vessels carrying patients and goods will be allowed to cross the rivers, said BIWTC public relations officer Nazrul Islam.   “Despite the suspension of speedboat and launch operations, thousands of home-bound people were seen crossing rivers on private vessels ignoring all health protocols.   Also read: Paturia-Daulatdia ferry services resume after 12 hours