Massive erosion at Shimulia ferry terminal disrupts services

Ferry services on the Shimulia-Kathalbari route have been hampered as the Shimulia terminal witnessed a massive erosion Tuesday noon, just three days ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, reports UNB.

Shafiqul Islam, assistant general manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) said the terminal-3, a mosque, a shop and adjacent swathes were eroded by river Padma around 1:30 pm, forcing the authority to suspend ferry services.

After around half an hour, vehicle transportation resumed through terminal-1 on a limited scale, he added.

Now, this is the only active terminal as the two others were declared shut amid erosion threat.

Shafiq said terminal-3 was used for docking Ro-Ro and giant ferries while terminal -1 for only small ferries. “The incident has greatly slowed down vehicle transportation at the ghat amid the rush of Eid holidaymakers,” he added.

Ferry services on the route has been hampered for the last 13 days due to strong current in the river. In most cases, ferry operation remained suspended in the nights.

However, the fresh incident further worsened the situation.

Tailbacks of over a hundred vehicles were seen on both ends of the river that left thousands of home-goers in sufferings.

The BIWTC official urged people to avoid the route if possible.