Home ›› 08 Sep 2021 ›› News
The Hatirjheel boat service is helping ease commuting hassle for many people living in Dhaka’s north and, at the same time, providing much-needed recreation for the masses.
Rashedul Islam, for example, regularly takes the boat from Gulshan to BFDC to commute to his office in Farmgate. “It saves time and gives an escape from the mad traffic gridlocks during office rush hours,” he told The Business Post.
Many office goers like Islam use the water rides in the morning, but in the afternoon, most passengers are young couples, according to ticket sellers.
There are currently 15 boats plying on four routes of Hatirjheel – Gulshan 1 (beside Police Plaza) to BFDC, Merul Badda to BFDC, Rampura to BFDC and BFDC to Merul Badda. The trips start at 6am and end at 10pm every day.
The ticket prices range from Tk 10 to Tk 30.
Ticket Master Nurul Islam said they usually operate around 50 trips a day carrying an estimated 1,500 people.
On weekends and public holidays, the rush of the passengers is higher than usual when one has to wait for 15-20 minutes to collect tickets, he said.
“We need more boats on these routes to offer people flexible trips,” Islam said.
The lake’s management authority has around 25 pedal boats with two and four seats for the passengers to enjoy quality times at the cost of Tk 150-300.
Toufique Rahman of Karim Group, which operates the Hatirjheel water taxi service, told The Business Post that they plan to increase the number of boats.
The water taxi service also created employment opportunities for many people. There are around 100 workers associated with it as of now.
