Massive Erosion at Shimulia Ferry Terminal Disrupts Services

Ferry services on the Shimulia-Kathalbari route were disrupted as the Shimulia terminal experienced a major erosion Tuesday noon, just three days ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.

Shafiqul Islam, Assistant General Manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), said that terminal 3, a mosque, a store and neighboring swathes reached the Padma River gorge at about 1:30 p.m., prompting the authority to suspend ferry services, reports UNB.

After around half an hour, the transport of vehicles resumed on a limited scale via terminal-1, he added.

Now, this is the only operational terminal, since the other two were declared shut in the face of the possibility of erosion.

Shafiq said that terminal-3 was used to berth Ro-Ro and giant ferries while terminal-1 was used for small ferries only. "The accident has considerably slowed down the movement of automobiles in the ghat in the midst of the rush of holidaymakers in the Eid," he said.

Ferry services on the road have been disrupted over the last 13 days owing to heavy currents in the water. For certain instances, the ferry service sat halted overnight.

However, the fresh incident further worsened the situation

Tailbacks of more than a hundred cars were seen on both ends of the bridge, leaving thousands of home-goers helpless.

The BIWTC official urged people to avoid the road if necessary.