United News of Bangladesh

Ferry movement on two of the country’s vital waterways came to a halt on Saturday morning due to heavy fog on the Padma River, disrupting transportation for several hours. However, services resumed after a three-hour shutdown. While there was no fog overnight, a sudden fog engulfed the river basin early on Saturday. As a result, ferry services on Manikganj’s Aricha and Pabna Kazirhat routes were suspended at 6:20am. The shutdown lasted until 9:35am, when ferry operations resumed, according to The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC). Ferry services on Chilmari-Roumari route suspended for 17 days In addition, ferry movement between Manikganj’s Paturia and Rajbari’s Daulatdia was also affected. The fog caused ferries to stop operating from 7:20 am at Paturia and from 7:30 am at Daulatdia. Services on this route resumed around 10:15 am, nearly three and a half hours later. Aricha BIWTC Assistant General Manager Mohammad Salah Uddin said there was no fog on the river overnight, and it was only in the early hours of Saturday that the fog became dense, hampering ferry operations. At the Daulatdia ghat, approximately six ferries were stationed with loaded vehicles while four more ferries were anchored at Paturia. Zaman Paribahan Supervisor Monir Hossain said several buses, along with other vehicles, reached the ferry terminal around 7 am. Following the fog, authorities halted all ferry operations. As a result, at least a hundred Dhaka-bound vehicles were stranded at the ghat.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) on Saturday suspended launch services on Daulatdia-Paturia and Aricha-Kazirhat routes as Cyclone Mocha approaches the coast. Traffic Inspector at the Ghat, Aftab Hossain, said launch services remained suspended from Saturday morning. The order will remain in force until further notice. Also Read: Cyclone Mocha: Launch services on Chandpur route suspended According to the latest weather bulletin, the very severe cyclonic storm Mocha over east central Bay and the adjoining area is likely to intensify further, move in a north-northwesterly direction and cross Cox’s Bazar-North Myanmar coast by 6 pm on Sunday (May 14).    

A ferry carrying vehicles capsized at the Paturia dock on Wednesday morning. Fortunately, no casualties have been reported. The accident occurred around 9am near Paturia's number five ferry terminal when the vessel, Shah Amanat, was preparing to anchor at the dock. READ: India ferry tragedy: One dead, two missing, 87 rescued The ferry was heading towards Aricha from Rajbari’s Daulatdia ghat and was carrying trucks, vans and motorcycles, sources at the Fire Services headquarters told UNB. Some of the people on the ferry managed to swim ashore when it sank, the sources said. READ: 60 'missing' in India ferry accident "Members of the diving unit of the fire services have been pressed into action," they added.

Ferry services on the key Paturia-Daulatdia route in the Padma River resumed on Wednesday morning after a 12-hour suspension due to poor visibility.