Ferry services are being disrupted due to poor navigability on the Padma River creating a five-kilometre-long tailback of vehicles waiting to cross the river through Daulatdia-Paturia route.
More than 500 vehicles, including passenger buses and goods-laden trucks, were waiting for their turns on the ferries on the Dhaka-Khulna highway on Monday.
The tailback has created a traffic jam on the Aricha end too.
Of the 20 ferries on the Daulatdia-Paturia route, 17 were operational on Monday, according to Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) officials at Daulatdia jetty.
Two of the ferries are being repaired while another has been sent to Mawa.
Additionally, poor navigability is delaying loading and unloading of vehicles on the ferries, they added.
"I have been waiting for 12 hours on the highway to cross the river," said Yasin Ali, a covered van driver.
“It is very difficult to wait on the highway under the open sky in this scorching heat,” he complained.
Truck driver Nurul Islam told Dhaka Tribune that, when he reached the terminal in the morning, there were around 200 trucks in front of him.
BIWTC Daulatdia Ghat Manager (Commercial) Shihab Uddin said that it was taking more time for vehicles to cross the Daulatdia jetty due to the extra pressure of Dhaka-bound vehicles and a fewer number of ferries operating on the route.
However, passenger buses and trucks carrying perishable goods were given priority, he said.