Authorities concerned continue their efforts to improve the navigability of the Daulatdia-Paturia river channel, as bus movement through the ferry ghats was halted for 72 hours, in an attempt to ease traffic congestion.
Two out of three terminals are now operational at Daulatdia ferry ghat, while the other one will be functional soon, sources at Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) said.
Two dredger machines were used Sunday to carry out emergency dredging at the river channel entrance point at Daulatdia and remove silt from the area.
On Saturday, tug boats recovered two ferries, Shahjalal and Hamidur Rahman, after they were caught in hidden shoals at the river channel.
However, Keramot Ali, a ferry which got stuck in an underwater shoal at the Daulatadia entrance channel on Friday, is yet to be recovered.
Of the 13 ferries, eight RO-RO ferries and two K-type small ferries are now in operation.
Tarequl Hasan, an Executive Engineer of BIWTA, said authorities have been fighting the climate since efforts started on Friday to remove the sand deposited in the new channel. However, he expressed hopes that the channel will be opened soon.
Zillur Rahman, Assistant General Manager at Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), said, a ferry carrying its full capacity of passengers and vehicles needs eight to 10 feet depth of water, while the current depth of the channel is below seven feet.
However, BIWTA officials claimed that ferry operation will regain normalcy soon.
A team of senior officials from BIWTA and BIWTC are closely monitoring the situation at the ferry ghats.
Meanwhile, authorities halted the movement of buses through Daulatdia-Paturia ghat for 72 hours from Sunday morning, to ease traffic congestion on both sides.
The decision was made in a meeting between Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan and the Bus Owners Association on Saturday night.
Abu Abdullah, the office assistant manager at BIWTC Daulatdia, told banglanews24, “Only goods-laden trucks are crossing the river by ferry from morning.”
Thousands of passengers faced immense sufferings in the last few days, as ferry operation on the river route was disrupted because of the emergence of hidden shoals and poor navigability at the entrance points on both sides of the ferry ghats.
Shortage of ferries, strong current and poor navigability in the river Padma are also attributed to the frequent setbacks to the ferry operation.