Saturday | 11 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
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Saturday | 11 January 2025 | Epaper

People from 21 southern districts suffer as Shimulia-Banglabazar ferry service suspended

Published : Sunday, 3 October, 2021 at 12:00 AM  Count : 906
Abul Bashar
SHARIATPUR, Oct 2: The Shimulia-Banglabazar ferry service has been closed for more than one month.
Banglabazar Ferry Station at Madaripur has been shifted to Mangalmajhir Ghat in Janjira Upazila of Shariatpur District. But due to navigability crisis in the Padma River, it was not possible to start ferry service on this route.
People of 21 districts in southern region of the country including Shariatpur are suffering in terms of communication with capital Dhaka.
Country's second busiest waterway is Shimulia-Banglabazar route. Drivers of vehicles have to travel an additional 150 kilometres to reach north Bengal and Dhaka via Daulatdia Paturia.
Vehicles from southern districts have to cross an additional 200 km to reach Dhaka by ferry on the Narsinghpur (Shariatpur)-Chandpur route.
 This is a waste of time and money for traders. Hundreds of vehicles are also causing traffic jam in both sides of Shariatpur-Chandpur ferry station, drivers said. Additional fares have to be counted for transporting goods including ambulances.
Local truck drivers Moktar Sardar, Aziz Mia and Sulaiman Sheikh said, "We are suffering due to the suspension of ferry service on the Shimulia-Banglabazar route."
Moslem Madbar, president of the West Naodoba Union Awami League in  Janjira Upazila  said, "We have been hearing for a long time that the ferry service would start through Mangalmajhir Ghat. But no one can say when it will start. No one knows when the suffering of people in South Bengal will be over."
 Mokhles Madbar, lessee of Mangalmajhir Ghat said, "We were happy to set up a ferry terminal at Mangalmajhir Ghat. But we are disappointed that no ferry is operating on the route yet."
The ferry service on the Shimulia-Banglabazar route was suspended from August 18 due to repeated collisions with the pillars of the Padma Bridge.
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) started construction of a new ferry terminal at Mangalmajhir Ghat on August 21. The BIWTA decided to set up a pontoon soon to operate the ferry terminal, allowing small vehicles, ambulances and government vehicles to cross the port in a limited scale. He added, all works to this end have already been completed; but due to the navigability crisis in te Padma, it was not possible to start ferrying on the  route.
Deputy Minister for Water Resources AKM Enamul Haque Shamim said, the ferry service on the Shimulia-Banglabazar route has been suspended due to strong current in the river; due to the navigation crisis in the river, it is not possible to start ferry service through Shimulia-Mangalmajhir route.
Dredging is going on in the river, and the problem will be solved soon. As an alternative route, arrangements have been made for adequate number of vehicles to pass through Shariatpur-Chandpur and Aricha stations, he maintained.
Abdullah Inam, traffic supervisor at BIWTA and the Department of Maritime Safety and Traffic Management said, "We can't say when the ferry service on the Shimulia-Majhir Ghat route will start. There is a river navigability crisis there."






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