Eid holidaymakers in the capital, who will travel to 21 southern districts through the Paturia-Daulatdia and Shimulia-Banglabazar routes, are likely to suffer immensely for an inadequate number of ferries and gridlock due to construction work on a road.
They are likely to remain stuck in their vehicles for hours before being able to board the ferries, transport operators have warned.
They also said the Eid rush is likely to be heavier this year as there are almost no Covid restrictions in place.
People travelling on the Aricha-Kazirhat ferry route are also set to suffer because of an inadequate number of ferries.
Paturia and Aricha ghats are located in Manikganj, Daulatdia in Rajbari, Kazirhat in Pabna, Shimulia in Munshiganj, and Banglabazar in Madaripur.
The ferries are operated by the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), which is under the shipping ministry.
On average, 4,000 vehicles ply the Paturia-Daulatdia route daily on 17 to 18 ferries while three ferries carry around 800 vehicles on the Aricha-Kazirhat route every day, said BIWTC officials.
During Eid, the vehicles' flow is likely to double on the Paturia-Daulatdia route, which may lead to gridlock near the ghats.
Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, Arshaf Sheikh, a truck driver, said, "We have been witnessing long queues of vehicles at the Daulatdia point for the past few days. It looks the situation will worsen during Eid."
BIWTC officials said they were operating 19 ferries on the Paturia-Daulatdia route.
"We will add two more ferries in the fleet to cope with the rush," said Shah Md Khaled Newaz, deputy general manager (Commerce) of BIWTC.
"We will add another ferry to the fleet of three on the Aricha-Kazirhat route," he said.
"So, we will have 25 ferries that will be operated during the Eid. We hope it will be sufficient for the Eid holidaymakers."
BIWTC Director (Control) SM Ashikuzzaman said, "We will be on high alert so that no truck, except those carrying perishable goods, can enter the ferry terminal."
Apart from ferries, passenger-carrying launches also ply those routes. A total of 33 launches have been kept ready for carrying the holidaymakers, said Panna Lal Nandi, supervisor of Paturia Launch Ghat.
Despite these words of assurance, passengers and transport operators fear suffering on their way home.
They said the ferries are not enough to carry such a huge number of passengers.
According to rough estimates of transport experts, around 1.2 crore people will leave Dhaka ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr, which will be either on May 2 or 3.
Construction works underway at different points of a 90km stretch of the Dhaka-Paturia highway are also expected to cause gridlock.
Vehicles slow down at Golra, Manikganj bus station, Baniajuri, Falsatia, Tepra and Uthuli points on the highway. It is likely to intensify during the rush, said passengers and transport operators.
On the Shimulia-Banglabazar route, ferry services are operated on a limited scale to ensure the safety of a Padma Bridge pillar.
The decision was taken after ferries collided with the pillar at least four times last year.
Normally, some 600 to 700 small vehicles ply this route daily. The number may rise to 3,500 to 4,000 during the Eid rush, said Faysal Ahmmad, manager (commerce) of BIWTC's Shimulia office.
"We are planning to further increase the number of ferries. But the decision is yet to be final," he told The Daily Star yesterday.
Car driver Alauddin Hossain, who frequently drives on the route, said, "Normally, it takes around one hour to board a ferry. But it may take five to six hours during the Eid rush."
[Our Correspondent from Manikganj, Munshiganj and Faridpur contributed to the report]
