Ferry goes kaput in Meghna

A ferry carrying over 500 passengers and dozens of buses and trucks went out of order after hitting a hidden shoal in the middle of the river Meghna on Tuesday. Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) authorities said the ferry Kishani stranded in the char at about 3:30pm on its way to Moju Chowdhury Jetty in Laxmipur from Ilisha Jetty in Bhola.As the radar of the vessel broke down due to the collision with the hidden shoal, the ferry could not move further.Meanwhile, strong current has washed away the ferry towards Kachia union in Bhola.The ferry master has also informed that the passengers have already left the ferry through trawlers.BIWTC Assistant Manager Shihab Uddin said they have already sent another ferry Kanakchanpa to rescue the Kishani.Meanwhile, people trying to cross the river Padma on the Mawa-Kawrakandi route continue to suffer because services by vessels virtually remained suspended due to the strong current.More than 250 loaded vehicles were waiting to 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 current,” said the 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 13 km distance between Mawa and Kawrakandi,” Roy said.Roy said people were lining up on both banks of the river to cross but remained stranded because of shortage of vessels capable of navigating through strong currents.