An executive engineer of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) was found dead at a hotel in the capital's Nayapaltan area early Wednesday. The deceased was identified as Md Abbas Uddin, 50. He was the executive engineer of the BIWTC's Chattogram Sadarghat and a resident of Cumilla's Muradnagar upazila. Ferry driver missing after it capsizes with vehicles in Padma River Kamrul Islam, sub-inspector at Paltan police station, said they received a call from 'Hotel The Capital' around 12:30 am and rushed to the spot. Later, they rescued Abbas Uddin after breaking the door of room no 304 in an unconscious state around 1 am and took him to the emergency department of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead around 2:20 am. BRTA's number of deaths from road accidents in 2023 shows significant departure from JKS According to the hotel authorities, the victim came to Dhaka from Chattogram on January 13 for official purposes and began staying at the Hotel Capital in Nayapaltan. He was supposed to leave the hotel on Tuesday noon. Later, getting no response from phone calls, the hotel authorities informed the matter to police. 1 more dengue patient dies; 30 hospitalised in 24hrs The body was kept at the hospital morgue for autopsy, added the police officer.

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

Ferry service on Daulatdia-Paturia and Aricha-Kazirhat route resumed after remaining suspended for more than two hours since early Monday due to poor visibility caused by thick fog. As thick fog started appearing on the river basin of these two routes from midnight and it turned heavier with time the authorities decided to suspend all ferry services, according to Aricha office of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA). Ferry service remained suspended from 6am till 8:30 am on Rajbari-Daulatdia and Manikganj-Paturia routes, while it remained suspended on Aricha-Kazirhat route from 5 am till 8:30 am. Apart from ferries the authority also suspended the movement of all types of water transports to avoid accidents. Total 16 large and small ferries remained anchored at Daulatdia, Paturia  and Aricha-Kazirhat terminals and of them two were forced to anchor in mid river. Ro-ro ferry Shah Makhdum and Utility Madhabilata that move on Daulatdia-Paturia route remained stranded with at least 30 vehicles and 200 passengers in mid river due to fog, causing an immense trouble to the stranded passengers at terminals and in mid river amid the cold. Najrul Islam, a private office worker, said he started on motorcycle for Rajbari from Savar early morning but had to wait for more than two hours amid  cold at the terminal. “The ferry services were disrupted as the risk of accidents amid thick fog became apparent this morning. Two ferries leaving for terminals of Daulatdia-Paturia waterway lost direction after reaching the mid river in  the heavy fog. Both ferries were asked to anchor immediately,” said  Shah Md. Khaled Nawaz, deputy general manager (Commercial) of BIWTC at Aricha point. However all ferry services resumed after 8:30 am as the fog got cleared, he said.  

Commuters waiting to cross the Padma river had a harrowing time Sunday morning, with the authorities suspending ferry services on the Daulatdia-Paturia route due to dense fog. Md Salah Uddin, manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) at Daulatdia point, said the ferry services remained halted from 6 am owing to poor visibility. Read more: Erosion disrupts ferry service in Daulatdia Three ferries remained stranded in the middle of the Padma and operation of 10 more ferries were cancelled on the route, he said. Sohel Molla, who has been waiting at the ferry terminal to go to Dhaka by an ambulance from Faridpur, said, “My brother suffered a stroke on Saturday night and was admitted to Faridpur Heart Foundation Hospital. After the initial treatment, the doctor referred him to Dhaka. We came at the ferry terminal around 6 am and got stuck here due to the ferry suspension following dense fog.” Read more: Ferry gets stuck in Meghna shoal, passengers rescued At Daulatdia point, all vehicles, including long-haul buses, were seen moving slowly with their headlights on Dhaka-Khulna highway due to the dense fog. Several vehicles also got stuck on both sides of the river due to the suspension of the ferry services, Salah Uddin said. ‘’The services will resume once visibility improves," he added.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) has increased the fare for its passenger ships and ferry services by 20 per cent effective from Sunday. This was announced in a BIWTC press release on Thursday. Also read: Return rush at Paturia ferry terminal It said the authority has re-fixed the fare in the wake of price hike of fuel oil. “From 6 am on June 19 the fare will be effective for all kinds of vessels, including  passenger ships,” it said. Also read: Barishal: 3 ferry owners fined for overloading

At least 39 people were charred to death and 72 others injured in a massive fire that ripped through a launch carrying some 800 passengers from Dhaka to Barguna in the early hours of Friday. The blaze, in fact, began on Avijan-10 in the midstream of the Sugandha River off the coast of Jhalokati district's Sadar upazila, 250kms south of Dhaka, around 3am. Within five to 10 minutes, the flames engulfed the vessel. "We were alerted around 3.30am," Fazlul Haque of Fire Service and Civil Defence in Barishal, told UNB. However, the first firefighting vessels took some time to reach the ill-fated launch due to dense fog in the area. Also read: 3 dead, 44 injured in India refinery fire “Thirty-seven bodies have been recovered and 72 people rescued from the ill-fated launch," Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Jhalokathi Moinul Haque told UNB. Of the 37 bodies, four were identified and the remaining 33 bodies were sent to Jhalokathi Sadar Hospital Morgue, said the ASP. Of the 72 injured, 66 have been admitted to Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and Hospital (SBMCH) in Barishal with serious burns. The others are being treated at Jhalokathi Sadar Hospital. "Of the 66, with up to 50% burns, 18 are women," said Dr Moniruzzaman, assistant director at the SBMCH. "Three women and four men with life-threatening burns have been referred to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital as we've no dedicated burn unit." UNB Barishal Correspondent reports that two of the injured succumbed to burn injuries on the way to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.

A floating lighted buoy has been placed Sunday at three kilometers south to the span number 12 and 13 of the Padma bridge to help ferries avoid colliding with the piers while passing under it. The decision to place the buoy was taken in a meeting of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), Bangladesh Inland Water Transport and Communication (BIWTC), Bangladesh Armed Forces, and the bridge authority to determine procedures to protect the bridge piers from collision with ferries on Shimulia-Banglabazar route. As ferries plying from Bangla Bazar to Shimulia have to face a strong current immediately after passing the Hajra channel just 1.3 km away from the bridge it becomes difficult for the navigators to control the turn that led to consecutive incidents of collisions in the area in last few days, according to the authorities. Also read: Ferries plying around Padma Bridge to get outer rubber layer Now the ferries will target the buoy after passing Hajra channel and will be able to adjust the heading control with the current before reaching near the bridge, they said. Already ferries started moving targeting the buoy and the authority plans to place a spherical buoy later after conducting a hydrographic survey on Monday. Meanwhile for navigation on Banglabazar-Shimulia route ferries were suggested to move through the span 11,12,13 and 14 area. Also read: Ferry with heavy vehicles banned from plying under Padma bridge: Khalid As the vessels moving on Shimulia-Banglabazar route will move against the current and less likely to lose control, authorities suggested they use span 6,7 and the adjoining two spans according to the situation.

Ferry services on Shimulia-Banglabazar route were suspended on Thursday noon due to stormy weather. Mohammad Shafiqul Islam, Assistant General Manager of Bangladesh Inland and Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) Shimulia Ferry Ghat, said the ferries on the route were operating with  risk  due to strong current in the Padma river since morning. Read:Ferry hits Padma Bridge pillar: BIWTC forms probe committee Around noon, the authorities  suspended the ferry services due to strong current in the river. Some 600 vehicles were seen waiting on the both sides for crossing the river, he said. Besides, several hundred people from southern and eastern parts of the country were also seen waiting on the ferry ghats to cross the river. Read:Maritime ports asked to hoist cautionary signal 3 The maritime ports of Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Mongla and Payra have been advised to hoist local cautionary number three as the well marked low over southwestern part of Bangladesh and adjoining area now lies over western part of Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal. “Under its influence, deep convection is taking place and a steep pressure gradient lies over North Bay and adjoining areas,” said a Met office bulletin. Read: Ferry-launch suspended from Friday morning Squally weather may affect the maritime ports, North Bay and adjoining coastal areas of Bangladesh, it said. All boats and trawlers over North Bay have been advised to remain close to the coast and proceed with caution till further notice.

A four-member committee has been formed by Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) to investigate the collision of the Shahjalal ferry with a pillar of the under-construction Padma Bridge. The committee has been asked to submit a report to the BIWTC chairman within three days. BIWTC issued an order in this regard Friday. BIWTC Director (Commerce) SM Ashiquzzaman was made the convener of the committee. Other members of the committee were BIWTA Director (Shipping) M Shahjahan, BIWTC AGM (Marine) Ahmed Ali and AGM (Engineering) Rubeluzzaman. Read: 20 hurt as ferry hits Padma bridge pillar Meanwhile, inland master officer Abdur Rahman, in-charge of the Shahjalal, was suspended for failing to operate properly. Earlier on Friday morning, Shahjalal, a Ro-Ro ferry that operates on the Shimulia-Banglabazar (Madaripur) route, crashed into the pillar near the Mawa area of Munshiganj at around 9am, causing injury to 20 people.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport and Corporation(BIWTC) authority has temporarily suspended an officer Sunday for not wearing a mask while attending a program with the State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury. BIWTC ordered the suspension of naval officer Md Jakir Hossain in an office notification issued today. READ: Super Cyclone ‘Amphan’: BIWTC suspends ferry services The violation occurred on July 15 during the inauguration two ferries, Kadam and Kunjalata, by the state minister at Shimulia ferry terminal. All other officials of BIWTA and BIWTC except Zakir were seen maintaining health guidelines, said the notice. The flouting of health safety rule was spotted in a photo published by Somoy TV. By not wearing mask Zakir the minister, chairman of the organization, special guests and everyone present at the program at risk, which is tantamount to defying government’s order and goes against the discipline of government service, said the notice. READ: Bus driver who knocks down BIWTC official held