Having access to an adequate amount of ferries and launches at the Paturia terminal, Eid holidaymakers managed to cross the Padma River without any hassle on Friday.
Hundreds of people were seen flocking at the terminal area since morning, said Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) Aricha Office Deputy General Manager (Commerce) Shah Md Khaled Newaz.
According to police and BIWTC sources, passenger buses from different areas of Dhaka’s Savar, Ashulia and Gazipur crowded at Paturia terminal area as people rushed towards their hometowns at the eleventh hour to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha with their friends and families.
Ferry “Bhasha Shahid Barkat” left around 10:45am with huge number of passengers waiting at the ghat to cross the river. However, three to four passenger buses got chance to board on the ferry due to lack of space.
According terminal sources, there has been an overflow of passengers and vehicles crossing the Paturia-Daulatdia routes during the couple of Eid.
However, this time the scenario has been changed. The number of passengers and vehicles in the Paturia ferry terminal has decreased after the inauguration of the Padma Bridge.
Most of these passengers crossing the mightly Padma River on Friday are garment workers from Savar, Ashulia, Nabinagar and Gazipur.
Meanwhile, Manikganj Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Abdul Latif visited Paturia Terminal on Friday morning. He said: “The situation is still very smooth here despite the pressure of homebound passengers. We have warned launch authorities to not overcorwd the vessels.”
Action will be taken against those involved in overcrowding or overcharging, he added.
A total of 29 ferries are carrying passengers and vehicles from this terminal so far.
