Ferry operations on Aricha-Kazirhat waterway have been suspended since Saturday evening due to low navigability in the approach channel. With this, this ferry service has been suspended three times this month.
The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) made the decision at 6pm on Saturday mentioning safety concerns.
As a result, over 300 goods-laden trucks got stranded on both sides of the river, causing immense suffering of drivers, labours and passengers awaiting transport.
Abu Abdullah Rony, manager of BIWTC's Aricha commercial office, said that the channel's water levels are insufficient, making ferry operations risky. "The buildup of silt in the Aricha approach channel has reduced the river's depth, obstructing ferry movement. To prevent accidents, we had no option but to suspend services," he said.
Nasir Mohammad Chowdhury, deputy general manager of BIWTC's Aricha regional office, said that at least eight feet of navigable depth is required for ferries to operate safely. However, the channel currently has less than six feet of depth.
"Under these conditions, continuing operations was impossible, so we had to stop ferry services from Saturday evening," he added.
Further explaining the situation, he said, under normal circumstances, an average of 350 to 400 cargo vehicles cross the waterway daily. Five ferries operate on this route for transporting vehicles and passengers. To address the navigability issue, dredging work is underway to remove silt from the waterway. Ferry services will resume once the waterway is navigable. In the meantime, vehicle drivers have been advised to use alternative routes temporarily. According to cargo transport workers and local sources, vehicle crossings on the Aricha-Kazirhat ferry route have been disrupted due to the suspension of ferry services. The navigability issue of the waterway is severely impacting cargo transport as well as passenger travel. In particular, if vehicles on this route have to take alternative routes, both time and costs have significantly increased.
Due to navigability issues, ferry services on this waterway were suspended for 37 hours over two days from November 1 and for 61 hours over two days from November 8. Now it has been suspended for the third time this month.
