Thousands of people rushed to Shimulia ferry terminal in Munshiganj's Louhajang on Wednesday, in the last attempt to leave the capital ahead of the seven-day all-out lockdown from Thursday, but disregarding the health guidelines.
Many of them boarded the overcrowded ferries without wearing masks or maintaining social distancing, which are important to check the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
The authorities set up check-posts on Dhaka-Mawa Expressway and at Shimulia intersection to make room for the vehicles on emergency duty and divert the freight trucks.
The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) has kept 15 ferries operational on the Shimulia-Banglabazar route to handle the passenger rush, considering the absence of long-route bus and train ahead of the hard lockdown.
In serious violation of health guidelines, commuters board overcrowded ferries at the Shimulia terminal defying health guidelines on Wednesday, June 30, 2021 | Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune
Safayet Ahmed, manager (commerce) of BIWTC at Shimulia, said that the commuters had been thronging the terminal in large numbers since early in the morning.
The pressure of vehicles trying to cross the river was high as hundreds of goods-laden trucks were waiting for hours to board the ferries.
“Emergency transports and passenger vehicles are being given priority over freight trucks because of the rush,” the official added.
Earlier on May 21, five people died and 50 others injured while getting off from overcrowded ferries on the Padma River bank amid the homegoing rush of hundreds of thousands ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr.
The deaths were reported in two separate incidents at the Banglabazar ferry terminal in Madaripur’s Sibchar upazila.
