Heavy fog across Bangladesh slows traffic, ferry services

Heavy fog cross the country is slowing road traffic and ferry services.

The low visibility has caused road vehicles to slow down. Ferry services from the capital to two major southern ports were halted for several hours due to the fog.

The Daulatdia-Paturia ferry between Rajbari and Manikganj was closed at 4am, while the Shimulia-Kathalbari ferry from Munshiganj to Madaripur has been closed since 6am.

Over 1,000 vehicles were stalled at the four ports. The passengers were also weathering the winter cold.

“The fog has reduced visibility significantly,” BIWTC Daulatdia Port Assistant Manager Abu Abdullah told bdnews24.com’s Rajbari correspondent.

“The marking points and beacons on the river are hardly visible so we had to close the ferry services.”

Six ferries were, at one point, stuck mid-route between the ports, he said. Over 500 vehicles were waiting to make the crossing at Daulatdia.

All the 33 launches at the Daulatdia port were halted due to the fog, Launch Port Director Nurul Anwar Milon told bdnews24.com’s Munshiganj correspondent.

BIWTC official Abu Abdullah said ferry service on this route resumed around 11am after the fog began to lift.

Four ferries carrying over 500 passengers were also stuck in the bitter cold on the Shimulia-Kathalbari route.

Nearly 200 cars were waiting to cross at the Shimulia end, said BIWTC AGM Khandker Shah Newaz Khaled.

“Heavy fog descended on all sides this morning. It is difficult to see the beacons or even nearby objects. The ferry has been closed to prevent accidents. We resumed services at 10:15am after the fog cleared a bit.”

The Bangabandhu Bridge Toll Plaza was also closed for a half-hour due to the reduced visibility.

“Lines of traffic formed after we closed the toll booths due to the fog around 5:30am,” said Bangabandhu Bridge East Police Station OC Md Asabur Rahman.

“The situation slowly became normal after the toll booths were reopened.”

Most parts of the country, including Dhaka, are facing heavy fog.

According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, sunrise was at 6:45am, but the sun could not be seen until 9:30am due to the fog.

A cold wind from the north and north-west moving at 5-10km/hr has caused a moderate to heavy fog to descend on Dhaka and the river basin areas.

According to the Weather Office, Satkhira, Jessore, Kushtia, Tangail, Madaripur, Gopalganj areas and the Rangpur and Rajshahi Divisions are experiencing a mild to moderate cold wave.

The cold wave is forecast to last a bit over a week, and is expected to lift in some parts of the country next Sunday.

Night temperatures across the country are expected to change only slightly, while day temperatures are likely to stay unchanged, the forecast said.

The lowest temperature in Bangladesh on Saturday was 7 degrees Celsius in Jessore and Tetulia. The lowest in Dhaka was 11.5 degrees Celsius.