Dense fog with a spell of cold weather disrupted road, water and air journeys since Thursday night, putting passengers in trouble.
Drivers were forced to drive on roads slowly as dense fog significantly lowered visibility. Those driving public transports on different routes even suspended trips to avoid running vehicles in hazardous conditions.
Waterway passengers suffered most because of the abrupt change in weather. Ferry services remained suspended for more than six hours between Shimulia and Kawrakandi routes and also between Daulatdia and Paturia routes on the Padma River yesterday.
To avoid the risk of accident, officials halted ferry services on both routes from around 4:30am to 11am, compounding the woes of a large number of Dhaka-bound people who travelled to their hometowns because of the Christmas holiday and the weekend.
Shah Alam, who came to Dhaka from Jessore by a bus of Eagle Paribahan yesterday, told the Dhaka Tribune he had to wait at Daulatdia ferry terminal for about four hours because of the suspension of ferry services.
“It was an ordeal for not only me but all of us who were in the bus. It was very cold there,” he said.
Eight ferries on the Shimulia-Kawrakandi route and four on the Daulatdia-Paturia route remained stuck in the middle of the journey.
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) control room sources said more than 100 vehicles, including ferries and launches on the Shimulia-Kawrakandi route, were forced to anchor at a char area in the middle of the Padma River because of decreased visibility.
Shafiqul Islam, Daulatdia terminal manager of the BIWTC, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that ferry services were suspended in order to shun accidents or any other unexpected dangers as dense fog made it difficult to move through.
BIWTC Shimulia terminal Manager Sirajul Haque said ferry services on the Shimulia-Kawrakandi route resumed around 11am yesterday.
Robin, a driver of Al Hamra Paribahan at Gabtoli bus terminal, told the Dhaka Tribune it was difficult to see what was several metres away on the road because of fog.
“Usually, it is a four-hour journey from Gaibandha to Dhaka but it took me six hours to reach the capital on Thursday night,” he said.
Jewel, a ticket counter official of Hanif Enterprise at Gabtoli, and Soikat Enterprise official at Sayedabad bus terminal Alok said almost all the vehicles had returned around an hour after the schedule.
Meanwhile, the authorities of Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong and also the port of Chittagong suspended several flights and sailing schedules because of fog.
Shah Amanat airport sources said several domestic flights were rescheduled and also delayed yesterday.
Nur-E-Alam, manager of the airport, said dense fog disrupted yesterday’s flight operations.
