Dense fog disrupts ferry services

About 400 vehicles were stranded as dense fog suspended ferry services on the Shimulia-Kaorakandi river route for seven hours on Friday. 
Six ferries carrying vehicles across the River Padma had to anchor mid-river after Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation decided to suspend the services about 3:00am due to dense fog.
The services were resumed about 10:00am after the fog began to clear. 
Shimulia BIWTC manager (commerce) Gias Uddin Patwari said that suspension of the services caused sufferings to people as they, being stuck in traffic, had to wait for hours in the cold of the winter.
Over 2,000 vehicles, carrying passengers and goods, are ferried across the route every day, while about 20,000 people cross the river by boats. 
The BIWTC assistant manager Sifat Ahammed at Shimulia said that about 1,000 vehicles crossed the river on Friday. 
Passengers complained about lack of basic public amenities, like food stores and public toilets, and absence of any designated place where they could wait when the services were disrupted. 
‘People have to wait in queues for long to get access to toilets as there are only two public toilets,’ said Mohammad Hashem, a passenger.
He, on his way to Barisal, was waiting at the Shimulia end of the route since Thursday night.

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