Trucks with only perishable goods can be ferried in Eid: State minister

Only those land-based cargo vehicles which carry perishable goods will be allowed to use ferries during the three days before and after Eid, State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said Thursday. 

Eid will likely be on 22 April. In the three days before and after that date, cargo vehicles such as trucks and covered vans will be allowed to ride on ferries to cross rivers only if they carry perishable goods like essential food items. Other trucks and covered vans will not be allowed on ferries during that period, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said while talking to journalists at the Bangladesh Secretariat in the capital after a meeting over traffic control during Eid.

He said that operations of speedboats and sand-laden bulkheads will be stopped five days before Eid and the movement restriction will continue five days after Eid – meaning these vehicles will not run tentatively from 17 April to 27 April.

At present, motorcycles are not allowed on Padma Bridge, forcing bikers to often take the risky journey ¬where a motorbike-laden truck is ferried across rivers. Some bikes are loaded directly into ferries for crossing rivers.

As vehicle-carrying trucks would be prevented from crossing rivers on ferries and as there would most likely be a huge increase in the number of bikers seeking to cross rivers during Eid, special arrangements would be taken with the Shimulia River Port authorities to transport the bikers.

The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority and the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation will take the necessary measures in this regard," the state minister said.

It was also decided in the meeting that strict vigilance would be maintained so that passengers cannot board launches on the mid-path by small boats from the areas adjacent to Sadarghat river port. 

The number of ferries on various routes will also be increased. Sea trucks will be in operation for passenger transport in coastal areas like Sandwip and Hatia. 

Furthermore, the Department of Shipping will take appropriate measures to ensure that unfit vessels cannot operate.
Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury further said that relevant authorities are working earnestly to ensure that common people can take their launch journeys smoothly during the holy Eid-ul-Fitr.

Many thought that once the Padma Bridge would be opened, the people of the southern region would no longer use launch services. However, this has been proven wrong as people's interest in launch journeys has only increased, and so have the services, the state minister added.