Shimulia-Banglabazar route crowded with Dhaka-bound people and vehicles

The Shimulia-Banglabazar route is overcrowded with Dhaka-bound passengers and vehicles.

The health rules are being ignored in the ferries due to the presence of hundreds of people. However, the pressure of Dhaka-bound passengers is more than that of South Bengal-bound passengers.

Though ferries have been kept open for vehicular crossings that are free from lockdown restrictions, every ferry has been seen crossing freight trucks and private vehicles since morning.

Passengers say they are returning to the capital for various needs including medical treatment, work, and vaccination.

Meanwhile, due to the closure of public transport, passengers are still suffering to reach their destination from Shimulia ghat. They reach their destination on low-speed vehicles such as pickup vans, covered vans, battery-powered auto rickshaws, CNG motorcycles. The passengers have to pay two or three times more fares.

Mahbubur Rahman, assistant manager of BIWTA Shimulia ghat, said, "There are currently 10 ferries plying the route. Passengers heading to Dhaka have been coming from Banglabazar ghat since morning, while some passengers heading to South Bengal are also crossing. There are more than a hundred private cars and more than two hundred trucks at the ghat area waiting to cross the river.