Padma Bridge opens to public

Padma Multipurpose Bridge was opened to traffic on Sunday morning.

On the 1st day of vehicular movement, hundreds of vehicles including motorcycle were waiting to cross the river on Mawa side around 7:30am.

Besides, the influx of ordinary people was excited to take pictures including police and army members. Even long-distance buses were seen stopping to give passengers a chance to see the enchanting beauty of Padma.

However, the executive magistrate was repeatedly trying to keep the road clear.

Earlier in the morning, around four kilometres of traffic was seen in Padma Bridge area. Now the situation is normal. Vehicles are able to cross the bridge within 7 minutes.

Aminul Islam, 35, who came from Kamrangirchar area, crossed the bridge first after paying toll at Mawa point, reports UNB.

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Meanwhile, the Mawa ghat was free of traffic congestion.

Toll collection

Tolls from Sunday are yet to count by the staff.

"Tolls will be collected in three shifts starting from 6:00am. Everyday after each shift workers will count the money and after every 24 hours Jamuna Bank will collect the money and deposit to the account,” Superintendent Engineer of Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) Tofazzel Hossian told to The Business Post.

“On the first day, the process may be delayed a bit as this is new for many staff,” he added

Tofazzel also said they have faced pressure of vehicles from 6:00am till 9:00am as many vehicles were in queue before toll collection started officially.

On June 25, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina unveiled the plaque of the 6.15km Padma Bridge in Munshiganj.

The prime minister also became the first person to cross the bridge, soon after opening it for traffic, by paying tolls.

On June 17, the authorities concerned conducted a test run for the toll plaza as some public cars crossed it at the Mawa end.

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The state-owned Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) will launch buses on 23 routes, including two old ones, in the south-western districts via the Padma Bridge from Sunday.