Fog halts ferry service on Paturia-Daulatdia, Aricha-Kazirhat routes

Ferry service on the routes along the Padma River from Manikganj's Paturia to Rajbari’s Daulatdia and from Arich to Pabna's Kazirhat has been halted due to dense fog.

More than a hundred cargo trucks have been waiting at the terminals to cross the river, with the drivers and their assistants suffering delays, reports bdnews24.com.

The authorities halted the ferry service on the Paturia-Daulatdia route at 12:40 am on Wednesday to avoid accidents, said Assistant Manager Abdus Salam of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation's Paturia office.

On the other hand, ferry service is on hold temporarily on the Aricha-Kazirhat route, said Deputy General Manager Nasir Mohammad Chowdhury of BIWTC Aricha office.

The fog began to thicken around 11:30 pm on Tuesday, Nasir said. At one point, the visibility dropped at the marking point of the channel and the authorities stopped ferry service at 12:40 am to prevent mishaps, he said.

The BIWTC officers also said the ferry service would resume once the fog clears and the vehicles waiting at the jetty would cross the river as per their queuing order.