Ferry services resume on Shimulia-Kathalbari route

The ferry services on the Shimulia-Kathalbari route resumed on Friday, 28 hours after the suspension due to poor navigability, reports UNB.

"Closed five times for 17 days in the last 29 days, the ferry services started operating again," said Safiqul Islam, assistant general manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC).

He said the ferry services were suspended at 11:15 am on Thursday due to the navigability problem.

He said the Padma bridge channel was dredged to make it suitable for ferry traffic. "The ferry services were closed at night for 35 days in a row. Roro or dump ferry cannot run, only small ferries are operating now," he said.

The revenue collected from the ferry services was only Tk 7 million in one month against Tk 60 million during the normal time, the BIWTC official said.