Shawdesh Desk:

Hundreds of vehicles were seen stranded at Narsinghpur ferry ghat on Saturday morning, as the mad rush of home-bound commuters increased manifold on the Shariatpur-Chandpur route ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr.

According to Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) sources, more than 500 vehicles have been waiting in line at the Narsinghpur ferry ghat since Friday night to cross the Padma river.

Abdul Momen, manager of the Narsinghpur ferry ghat, said that the pressure of vehicles has increased at the terminal as authorities have banned the crossing of passenger buses and trucks on Banglabazar-Shimulia and Paturia-Daulatdia routes.

Traffic inspector Md. Khorshed Alam said that amid the crisis of ferries, “Kamini is out of service”. “Adding two more ferries may help cope with the increasing number of vehicles. BIWTC has been informed about the same,” he said.

Jalal Hossain, a truck driver from Khulna, said, “I came to the dock yesterday and am still waiting to cross the river. I can’t say when I will be able to cross the river. Along with excessive food costs, we are facing other difficulties.”