Photo : Collected
Poor visibility caused by dense fog disrupted ferry movements for 12 hours on the Paturia-Daulatdia and Aricha-Kazirhat waterways, connecting 21 districts of the southwestern region of the country.
As the fog density increased on Saturday night, ferry service on the Aricha-Kazirhat route was halted from 11 pm to avoid the risk of accidents. After being closed for about 12 hours, the ferry service on that route resumed at around 11:00 on Sunday.
Due to the same reason, the ferry service was also suspended on the Paturia-Daulatdia route from 3:00 p.m. last Saturday. After 7 and a half hours on this route, the ferry resumed at 10:30 a.m. today.
According to the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) Aricha office, thick fog began to fall in the Padma and Jamuna River basins since last Saturday evening. After 9 pm, fog started descending like rain. In this situation, the ferry service on the Aricha-Kazirhat route was halted at around 11 pm. Meanwhile, Ro-Ro ferries Ruhul Amin and Sufia Kamal, loaded with passengers and vehicles, were anchored in the middle of the Jamuna River. On Sunday at 11 o'clock, the fog cleared, and the ferry service resumed after a long 12 hours.
Due to the same reason, the ferry service on the Paturia-Daulatdia route was halted from 3 pm on Saturday. Meanwhile, Ro-Ro, K-type (Medium) ferries Keramat Ali, Barkat, and Madhavi Lata, which left the ghat, got stuck in the middle of the Padma River.
Simultaneously, the ferries named Enayetpuri, Hashnahena, Khanjahan Ali, Shahparadhan, Bir Shrestha Jahangir, and Faridpur, as well as Banlata, Rajnigandha, Golam Mawla, Karbi, Bir Shrestha Hamidur Rahman, and Motiur Rahman at the Daulatdia end, were forced to remain anchored due to the ferry closures caused by fog.
When the fog cleared at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, ferry traffic returned to normal after 7 and a half hours. Hundreds of passengers and drivers of various vehicles, including long-distance transport bound for Dhaka and the southwest region, were stuck at the two ghats, including ferries in the middle of the river.
BIWTC Aricha Office Deputy General Manager Shah Md. Khaled Newaz said, ferry service is stopped to avoid accidents when the waterway goes out of sight in thick fog. After the fog cleared around 11 pm on Sunday, the ferry service resumed. Several vehicles on both routes were stuck in it. However, he said that the ferry has started in the morning, and the situation will be normal in a while.
Messenger/Sami/Shahin
