Ferry carries passengers despite suspension of services

Despite suspension of ferry movement on Shimulia-Banglabazar route from Saturday morning, a ferry was carrying passengers and vehicles in the route with huge pressure of people in the jetty.

Jetty authorities said due to huge rush of people at Shimulia, they are being forced to ferry some passengers and vehicles on the route.

The ferry, Kunjalata, was seen carrying hundreds of passengers and vehicles as number of people rushing towards the jetty increased in the morning. 

Shimulia Traffic Inspector (TI) Helal Uddin said, that Kunjalata returned from Madaripur this morning with passengers and ambulances. As soon as it reached Shimulia jetty, people waiting in the bank boarded the ferry and became agitated as the ferry was anchored, said Helal. This is what forced authorities to run the Kunjalata despite ban on services, he added.  

Authorities suspended ferry services on Paturia-Daulatdia and Shimulia-Banglabazar routes since this morning to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) said the decision to suspend ferry services on the two busy water routes, with effect from Saturday morning, was taken in the wake of the ongoing second wave of coronavirus.   

The sudden suspension of ferry services has caused immense sufferings to home-bound people ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr. Those who hired small vessels to go to their native villages to celebrate Eid with their families have been hit hard.

Mohammad Khorshed Alam, assistant manager of BIWTC at Daulatdia port, said that ferry services were suspended as per the orders of the Shipping Ministry. "In case of an emergency, we can operate one or two ferries for crossing the river," he told UNB.