Ferry services on the Paturia-Daulatdia channel, the gateway to the country’s south-western region, have almost come to a stanstill. All 10 Ro Ro ferries have stopped plying on the Padma river since Friday morning. Two K-type (light vessel) ferries are transporting vehicles across the river with great difficulty. The assistant general manager of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), Aricha sector, Bidyut Kumar Saha told The Independent that ferry services were disrupted from 10.00 am on Friday. “Keramot Ali”, a Ro-Ro ferry carrying vehicles and passengers, got stuck in a underwater shoal on the Daulatdia channel after it left Paturia. This led to suspension of ferry services.
As a result, more than 1,000 goods-laden trucks and other vehicles were stranded at Paturia in Manikganj and the Daulatdia Rajbari terminal.
Zillur Rahman, assistant general manager of the BIWTC at the Daulatdia ghat, said large ferries cannot cross
because of silt in mid river. A skeletal service is being maintained with the remaining two smaller ferries that can carry only four vehicles at a time.
Saha said ferry services are being disrupted frequently due to poor navigability. A loaded ferry needs at least eight-foot deep water, whereas the Doulatdia channel is only
six-foot deep.
However, BIWTA officials claimed that normal ferry services would be restored soon. Eight to 10 centimetres of water falls every day. This calls for long-term dredging to restore navigability
The manager (commerce) of the BIWTC, Md Shafiqul Islam, said a ferry with full capacity needs eight to 10 feet of water, whereas the current depth of the channel is below seven feet.
Poor navigability, submerged shoals and low depth of water in the Padma are the main causes behind frequent disruptions in ferry services over the last couple of days, the manager further said.
Two teams of experts from the headquarters of the BIWTA and the BIWTC, including their chairmen and head of the water consultancy department, reached the Paturia ghat at noon to visit the 150-foot area where there are several hidden shoals.
Later, the BIWTA chairman, Dr Samsuzzaman Khandaker, and the chairman of the BIWTC, Md Mozibur Rahaman, along with the head of the water consultancy department, Dr Ganandro Chandro Shil, held a press briefing. They said there was sufficient water 1,200-1,300 feet downstream and that two dredgers would start dredging as soon as possible.
The ferry services on the route will start from the evening with reduced capacity avoid hitting underwater shoals. The permanent approach channel will be usable for ferries shortly, they hoped.
Md. Shahadut Hossain, deputy general manager of the BIWTA at Aricha, blamed it on negligence of the dredging unit.
Dredging of the Doulatdia channel began on Tuesday (August 26), but it was being hampered by strong currents, a BIWTA official said.
-With The Independent input
