The ferry service on Paturia and Daulatdia route resumed on Sunday morning three hours after its suspension due to dense fog, said the authorities.
Abdus Salam, assistant general manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) in Aricha sector, confirmed the matter saying that they suspended the ferry movement to avoid any unwanted incident at 4:30am.
Ferry services were suspended again after 5:00am on Sunday, causing difficulties for drivers and passengers of both ferries and vehicles. Ferry services resumed around 8:30am once the fog had cleared.
Sources from BIWTA said thick fog unexpectedly disrupted ferry services on Sunday early morning. As the day progressed, the fog density increased, leading to a situation where visibility was severely reduced. To avoid accidents, ferry services were suspended from 5:15 AM. As a result, five ferries were forced to anchor at the Daulatdia terminal and five at the Paturia terminal, while other ferries were kept floating near the Paturia terminal. Ferry operations resumed around 8:30 AM when the fog began to lift. This was the first time this season that ferry services were halted due to dense fog.
Nur Ahmed Bhuiyan, the Assistant Manager of the BIWTC Daulatdia office, said that due to the dense fog and the risk of accidents, the senior authorities ordered the anchoring of the Ro-Ro (large) ferries including, Birshreshtha Jahangir, Birshreshtha Matiur Rahman, Enayetpuri, Shah Paran, and the utility ferry Bonlota at the Daulatdia terminal. As a result, vehicles heading to Dhaka from various districts in the southwestern region were unable to cross the river and were left waiting at the Daulatdia terminal.
Monir Hossain, the supervisor of Jamal and Souhardya transport at the Daulatdia terminal, stated that many passengers traveling to Dhaka from various districts, including Rajbari and Kushtia, start their journeys in the early morning to reach their offices or businesses. Several vehicles were stuck at the terminal for two to three hours after 5:30am, causing significant inconvenience for these passengers.
Nasir Mohammad Chowdhury, the Deputy General Manager (DGM) of the BIWTC Aricha office, stated that due to the dense fog, five ferries were anchored at both the Daulatdia and Paturia terminals. However, there was not much congestion of vehicles, so there was no significant difficulty.
