Chattogram Bureau :
Construction of approach road for ferry traffic has started at Kalurghat on Karnaphuli river. Work is going on fast with the goal of launching the ferry next February. To reduce the traffic jam at Kalurghat Bridge and the suffering of the people crossing the river, the Roads and Highways Department has decided to start a ferry under the Kalurghat Bridge in the Karnaphuli river.
It can be seen on the ground that the construction of the approach road for the ferry on the east bank of Karnaphuli river is going on. The three ferries collected so far have been placed on the west bank of the river. The ferry will be started only after the work of the approach road is completed, said Deputy Assistant Engineer of Roads and Public Roads Department Sadar-2 Abu Md Bhutto.
He said that the contractor has been appointed to start the ferry service. Ferries will be launched as soon as possible. “Work is going on for that purpose. Three ferries have arrived so far. Two ferries will operate. The other will be in reserve. Hopefully it will be inaugurated in February. The people crossing the bridge think that the traffic jam on both sides of the Kalurghat Bridge will be normalised by the launch of this ferry service,” he also said.
Every day hundreds of vehicles risk their lives in hundreds of vehicles on the dilapidated Kalurghat Bridge, which is almost a hundred years old. As it is a one-way bridge, passengers have to suffer endlessly to cross it. Passengers have to be stuck for hours.
It is known that Kalurghat Bridge has become dangerous and due to traffic jam, people have to suffer endlessly. When the ferry starts running, big cars will go on the ferry. Then the Kalurghat Bridge will be operated by trains and small vehicles. And BUET has been given the responsibility to renovate the old Kalurghat Bridge and make it suitable for running trains on the Cox’s Bazar highway.