Laxmipur-Bhola ferry to usher in a new era

A new Laxmipur-Bhola ferry service will play a vital role in enhancing economic growth through better communication in the south and coastal regions, BIWTC's chairman said Sunday. The service to be launched Monday will directly link Chittagong and Mongla seaports, reducing the physical distance between Chittagong and the Khulna-Barisal region at the same time, ASM Ali Kabir told bdnews24.com's Maruf Mallick.

Maruf Mallick

bdnews24.com correspondent

Dhaka, March 10 (bdnews24.com)—BIWTC's new Laxmipur-Bhola ferry service will play a vital role in enhancing economic growth through better communication in the south and coastal regions, the chairman of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation said Sunday.

The service to be launched Tuesday will directly link Chittagong and Mongla seaports, by plying the 28 km between Ilisha point in Bhola and Moju Chowdhurir Hat in Laxmipur, ASM Ali Kabir told bdnews24.com.

"This will reduce the physical distance between Chittagong and the Khulna, Barisal region at the same time," the BIWTC chairman said.

Eleven years after the first initiative was taken to connect the two coastal regions, the Laxmipur-Bhola ferry service will be inaugurated officially on March 11, though ferry boats started plying the route on a trial basis from Feb 25.

The road distance between the Chittagong and Cox's Bazaar region in the south to the Khulna and Barisal districts in the south-west will be reduced by at least 150 km through the introduction of the new service.

The ferries will connect the island district Bhola with the mainland, establishing a direct link to the national highway network to reach Chittagong, the BIWTC boss said.

"This will reduce pressure on the two ferry services across the Padma at Doulatdia and Char Janajat," he added.

After numerous feasibility studies, the overcoming of many obstacles, and the construction of new highways, the new service will now allow passengers and cargo to travel from Khulna to Chittagong the same day, Kabir said.

The journey has previously taken at least two days to negotiate.

At least ten thousand people journey between Noakhali and Barisal district everyday, negotiating the risky waters of the Meghna, Tentulia and Kala Badar rivers, the BIWTC chairman said.

"Their tribulations should be reduced to a great extent with the introduction of the new ferry service."

Kabir said the corporation is procuring four new ferries to ply the new route in anticipation of increased traffic.

BIWTC has also announced the transfer of three 'K' category ferries—Ketaki, Kasturi and Kishoree—from the Mawa and Aricha services.

BIWTC's director of finance Joynal Abedin Talukdar said the corporation is introducing the new ferry service by utilising its available manpower and technical capacity as much as possible, without opting for huge additional expenses.

The new crossing over the 28 km waterway between Ilisha point of Bhola and Moju Chowdhurir Hat of Laxmipur will take about three hours.

The travel time may be halved, however, if dredging is carried out at the Banger Char area of the Meghna river, BIWTC officials said. It would take only six hours to reach Bhola from Dhaka by this route.

BIWTC technical director M Osman Ameen told bdnews24.com that because of silt deposits in the river beds, vessels are compelled to travel longer distances to circumvent shallow waters, taking longer and expending more fuel.

The present Lahar Hat-Bheduria ferry service on the Barisal-Bhola route was introduced by the Roads and Highways Division on July 19, 2001.It presently takes about eight to nine hours to reach Bhola from the capital city by this route.

With a view to streamlining the southern regional communication systems, BIWTC officials said, a decision was taken about a year back to include the Lahar Hat-Bheduria ferry service under the management of BIWTC, which is yet to be implemented.

A coordination committee is urgently need today to coordinate activities of the national ferry authority and the national highway services, the officials said.

bdnews24.com/mrf/wz/rah/1328 hours