Commuters breathed a sigh of relief as the authorities resumed ferry services on the Daulatdia-Paturia route in the Padma River after a four-hour suspension due to dense fog early on Thursday.
The services were halted at around 4am to prevent any accidents owing to poor visibility and resumed at 8:15am once fog dissipated, said Md Nasir Khan, manager of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC).
Hundreds of vehicles, including cars, buses and goods-laden trucks, were waiting to cross the river when the last report came in, creating a 4km tailback on the Dhaka-Khulna Highway and causing immense suffering to commuters and drivers.
Such suspensions are commonplace in winter as dense fog shrouds the country’s rivers.