Mawa ferry services resume after a seven-hour halt
Ferry services on Mawa-Kawrakandi route through terminal No 3 resume partially after completion of repair work of the terminal damaged due to severe erosion by the Padma at Mawa in Munshiganj. This photo was taken yesterday morning.Photo: STAR
Ferry services on Mawa-Kawrakandi route resumed partially yesterday afternoon, after a seven hour halt from 9am, following completion of repair work of terminal no. 3. Meanwhile, among a few hundred vehicles stranded at the terminal, only the smaller ones like private cars were given priority by the ferry authorities. Due to severe erosion by the Padma, ferry services on Mawa-Kawrakandi route came to a total halt yesterday morning. The operation stopped after a 120-foot deep hole developed along the terminal No. 3 which was partially running the ferry service alone till Monday. “We stopped the ferry services as it was not possible for us to keep the terminal no. 3 operational because of massive erosion. The road to the terminal also caved in”, said SM Ashiquzzaman, assistant general manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC). As instructed by the shipping minister, we have already started construction of three new terminals near Rishibari in Mawa, at Mawa intersection and on Bhagyakul road of Kabutarkhana, he said. Ferry services would be normal in the next seven days as we have decided to work round the clock, he said. Meanwhile, more than eight hundred vehicles were seen waiting in queues at both ends of the route following suspension of the ferry service. Buses and goods-laden trucks were requested to use Patuaria route instead of Mawa until the repair work was finished. People aboard buses en-route to their destinations faced untold sufferings due to scorching heat and crisis of food and drinking water while businessmen also counted losses as their trucks, mostly with perishable items, had to wait for uncertain period. Abu Mia, one of the truckers waiting at Mawa to cross the river on way to Bagerhat, said “I came here from Dhaka at 8.00am. I don't know when I will be able to cross the river”. Bus passenger Renu Das said, she was waiting since morning with her three-year-old daughter on way to Bagerhat. “I don't know whether we will reach home safely”, she said. The authorities on October 9 suspended operation of ferry terminal No. 2 after a portion of it went into the river. Ferry services through the terminal No 1 were also suspended the next day. However, the operation at terminal-1 resumed after eight hours following repair work. Later on October 14, five BIWTC staff were injured when the river washed away terminal No. 1 along with at least 15 shops. Besides, six people went missing as over 100 people fell into the river when a big chunk of earth collapsed due to the erosion. They are still untraced, said an official at the terminal yesterday.
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