Ferry Operation Resumes on Padma Routes

Ferry services along the Daulatdia-Paturia and Shimulia-Kathalbari routes across the Padma River have resumed after heavy fog disrupted ferry crossings for several hours.

Ferry operations at Paturia were halted at 3am to prevent accidents due to poor visibility caused by the dense fog, said Mahbubur Rahman, assistant manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation, or BIWTC, Daulatdia terminal. Three ferries were stranded mid-river at this time, he added.

Normal services restarted at 10am on Tuesday after the fog subsided. However, about 500 vehicles were stranded at the Daulatdia terminal during the hold-up with passengers suffering in the cold, said Mahbubur.

The authorities were forced to stop ferry crossings on the Shimulia-Kathalbari route at 5am as the fog thickened, said BIWTC Kathalbari terminal Manager Abdul Alim. Seven ferries were stuck in middle of the Padma at this time.

Ferry operations along the route resumed at 9am after the fog receded, said Alim.

Hundreds of vehicles were stranded at both the terminals in the morning but the situation started to normalise after the ferry services resumed, authorities said.