Turbulent Padma slowing down ferries

People trying to cross the Padma River on the Mawa-Kawrakandi route continue to suffer because of strong currents slowing down vessels.

More than 250 vehicles were waiting to be get on ferries at the Munshiganj’s Mawa terminal on Tuesday as the Padma remained turbulent for the eighth consecutive day.

“There aren’t many vessels that can match these currents,” said the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) Assistant Mangaer Shekhar Chandra Roy.

Only 13 of the 16 vessels were ferrying vehicles and passengers, he said.

Terminal-3 for RO-RO ferries was washed away by strong currents a week back, causing severe disruptions on the river route.

After 48 hours, the spot for RO-RO ferries was shifted to Terminal-2 to keep them running but regular ferry services had to be suspended from that terminal.

Regular ferry operations resumed on Sunday evening when Terminal-3 was rebuilt next to the dock more than a hundred metres away from where it used to be.

All ferries except the RO-ROs were carrying vehicles across the river.

“The ferries can’t attain their usual speed when they are faced with such strong currents,” said the BIWTC official.

“It’s taking them three to five hours to cover the 13km distance between Mawa and Kawrakandi.”

Roy said people were lining up on both banks of the river to cross but remained stranded because of a shortage of vessels capable of navigating through strong currents.