Ferry services resume on trial on Shimulia-Banglabazar route

After a long closure of 47 days, ferry services resumed operation on trial on the Shimulia-Banglabazar route from today after it was halted on August 18.

Two ferries, one from Banglabazar and the other from Shimulia, will operate on a trial basis today. If no problems are found during the operation, a full-fledged ferry service could begin as early as tomorrow, reports a correspondent from Shariatpur quoting the director of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC).

Obaidul Karim Khan, assistant director of the Department of Maritime Conservation and Management, told The Daily Star that the representatives of BIWTC, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), and research institute CEGIS conducted a survey on Shimulia-Banglabazar ferry route last week.

Padma river had a minimum flow rate of 2.59 nautical miles per hour and a maximum flow rate of 3.96 nautical miles per hour in this waterway, according to the survey results.

The ferries can run only if the flow rate is under 2.50 nautical miles, he said.

He went on to say that the Shimulia to Banglabazar route's ferry would pass through Padma Bridge's pillars 13, 14, and 15, while the Banglabazar to Shimulia route's ferry would pass through pillars 19, 20, and 21.

Earlier, ferries of Banglabazar to Shimulia route collided with the pillars of Padma Bridge several times in July and August due to an increase in water and current in Padma river. Following that, the ferry service on that waterway was stopped on August 18.