Thousands of people on Sunday overcrowded the Shimulia ferry terminal in a desperate attempt to leave the capital and return to their village homes the day before a seven-day nationwide shutdown begins.
People began to swarm to Shimulia terminal early Sunday after a notification issued by the Department of Information Saturday night that the lockdown would be imposed on a limited scale from Monday and strictly from Thursday.
On Sunday morning, passengers were seen to gather at the jetty area to go on different routes ignoring the check posts set up by police. All ferries from Shimulia to Banglabazar were found packed with passengers and vehicles.
Hygiene and social distance rules were being flouted at the terminal area. Many did not even have facemasks.
Meanwhile, homebound people were seen coming to the jetties on foot or by motorcycles, microbuses, trucks and every other vehicle possible as buses were not available. They said they had to leave Dhaka and reach home at any cost.
Ahmed Ali, marine officer of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) at Shimulia jetty, said, “15 ferries are currently in operation. There is a crowd of passengers since morning, and the flow goes beyond our control.”
