Authorities have started dredging the Daulatdia and Paturia channels of the Padma River, but water transport officials said ferry services on the route were unlikely to return to normal immediately.
Sources said ferry operations between Daulatdia and Paturia were disrupted because of poor navigability due to siltation, submerged shoals, strong currents and low water level in the two river channels.
Frequent suspension of ferry services on the route has been hampering communications between the capital, Dhaka, and 21 southwestern districts.
Md Zillur Rahman, assistant general manager of Daulatdia river terminal, said a ferry, the Bir Shreshtho Motiur Rahman, carrying four heavy vehicles and a dozen microbuses, was stranded in shoal near the No:2 jetty overnight Monday. The vessel was salvaged Tuesday morning.
Daulatdia-Paturia ferry services improved somewhat on Monday using an alternative channel. But navigability of the main channel remained poor, restricting ferry movement on both channels.
Long queues of cars, buses and trucks were seen Tuesday afternoon at the Daulatdia ferry terminal, waiting for hours to travel on the Dhaka-Khulna highway.
Meanwhile, dredgers could not be operated properly due to strong currents in the channels, said Tarequl Hasan, executive engineer of BIWTA (Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority).
A BIWTC (Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation) official said a fully-loaded ferry needs two to three metres of water to move, whereas the current depth of the channels was below two metres.
The water level was falling by eight to 10 centimetres every day, which calls for long-term dredging to restore navigability, he added.
However, BIWTA officials claimed that the depth of the newly-opened channel was above two metres, and it would be possible to restore normal ferry operations soon.
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