Eid Rush: Homebound journey to south could be choppy

People homebound during Eid to the southwestern region of the country are likely to face hassles this time, as authorities are failing to operate most of the ferries on Shimulia-Kathalbari route due to strong current in the Padma River.

As a result, many people are taking the alternative route -- Paturia-Dauladia route --resulting in huge pressure of vehicles there and causing tailback of waiting vehicles.

With the number of vehicles expected to increase ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, the situation is likely to deteriorate, officials said, as there is little possibility for the current to subdue before the end of rainy season.

"We will increase number of ferries before Eid but if this situation -- strong current on the river -- remains the same till Eid, people will have to face untold sufferings," Khaja Miah, chairman of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), told The Daily Star yesterday.

Following experts' recommendation, the health ministry has asked the home ministry not to let people leave Dhaka and three other major cities ahead of the three-day Eid holiday, but the government decided to allow all public transport to operate maintaining health safety guidelines.

People often face suffering at the Shimulia-Kathalbari and Paturia-Dauladia ferry terminals -- that link Dhaka and the country's southwest -- ahead of every Eid, due to huge pressure of vehicles.

However, this time, people are already suffering at the terminals, officials said.

A total of 13 ferries were supposed to operate on Shimulia-Kathalbari route usually, but only three left Shimulia till 5pm yesterday due to strong currents on the river, a BIWTC staff at Shimulia terminal said.

The situation on Friday was worse.

The Shah Mokhdum ferry took more than 15 hours to reach Kathalbari from Shimulia while another ferry, Camellia, returned to Shimulia Ghat after six hours of failed efforts to cross the river, he said, wishing not be named.

He said they were facing problems in operating the ferry due to strong current for quite a long time, but the situation turned severe from July 16.

"We can't operate any small ferry due to strong current," he added.

"If the situation continues till Eid, people will face further sufferings," he said adding, "We don't think the situation will improve until the end of rainy session."

He said launch services, which are in operation, are taking relatively more time to cross the river. Speedboat operations have remained almost normal, he added.

As a result, Paturia-Dauladia route is facing pressure of increasing number of vehicles, Zillur Rahman, BIWTC deputy general manager at the terminal, told this newspaper yesterday.

He said they are operating 13 ferries now but each is taking one and half to twice the time to cross the river, he said.

BIWTC Chairman Khaja Miah said they have additional preparation centring the upcoming Eid, and will increase the number of ferries at both terminals.

"We will deploy 18 to 19 ferries at Shimulia-Kathalbari and 15 to 16 ferries at Paturia-Dauladia ahead of Eid," he added.

But, current on the Padma River is increasing due to consistent rain and flood situation, and if it continues, it would be very difficult to operate ferries, he said.

"So, it would be good if fewer people move during the Eid, as the government is discouraging people to leave Dhaka and other cities amid this pandemic," he added.

Apart from the severe current that is halting operation of ferries, he said a huge amount of siltation and waste are damaging signaling systems on the rivers, that is causing disruption of ferry services.