Kazirhat-Paturia Service Resumes
Vehicles remain stranded for want of ferries
Loaded trucks get stuck in a long tailback near Kazirhat terminal yesterday as they fail to avail a ferry to reach Paturia on the other end of the route. The spot often sees a similar situation due to shortage of ferries on the important route.Photo: STAR
Resumption of ferry service on Kazirhat-Paturia route has failed to make the truckers happy as 40 to 50 trucks get stranded at the entrance of Kazirhat terminal daily due to lack of sufficient ferries. After five years of virtual suspension, Kazirhat-Paturia ferry service resumed on May 18 this year and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) engaged two K-type ferries for the purpose. But they are too inadequate to accommodate the vehicles coming to the terminal and the BIWTC authorities have to incur losses due to high fuel cost on the 19-kilometre route, sources said. To reduce the distance by half and add more ferries on the route, BIWTC authorities have proposed shifting Kazirhat ferry terminal to Khoyarchar point. During a visit to Kazirhat terminal yesterday, this correspondent found long queues of loaded trucks waiting for ferries. “We are going to the capital with raw materials. We came to the terminal in the morning but yet to get any ferry. We often face the same regularly as there is not enough ferries here,” truck driver Md Abdur Rahim said in the afternoon. Several other truck drivers waiting there echoed the same. “Some 80 to 100 trucks go to the capital daily from the district. But due to the shortage of ferries at Kazirhat terminal, many truck drivers move to Jamuna bridge,” Md Shahidul Islam, president of Pabna district unit of truck owners association. Md Sabbir Rahman Mishtu, ticket counter operator of Kazirhat ferry terminal, said 30 to 35 trucks cross the route on two K-type ferries in three trips but 40 to 50 trucks often get stranded at the entrance. Ro-Ro ferries are essential to run the ferry service smoothly." Officials of BIWTC said they have to incur huge losses to run ferry service on Kazirhat-Paturia route. “Operation of a K-type ferry on the 19-kilometre Kazirhat-Paturia route requires Tk 23 to 25 thousand as fuel cost for each trip (up and down) but it brings only Tk 15 to 20 thousand as fare,” said Md Shahadat Hossain, deputy general manager of BIWTC. “If Kazirhat terminal is shifted to Khoyarchor point the distance will be reduced by 10 km and it will save 50 percent of the fuel cost. Shifting the ferry terminal is also necessary for operating of Ro-Ro ferries on the route as the existing terminal is too small," he said. Truck owners and truck drivers' association leaders jointly informed the shipping minister and the planning minister about the poor ferry service on this route and demanded introducing sufficient ferries there, said Abul Hossain Khan Mohon, president of Pabna district truck owners association.
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