Fulchhari Ghat-Bahadurabad rly ferry service no more in use

The once busy 117-year old Balashi Ghat – Bahadurabad Ghat railway ferry service has been on paper only since the Bangabandhu Bridge across the Jamuna River was commissioned in 1998.
Balshai Ghat is also known as d Fulchhari Ghat and Tistamukh Ghat.
The key ferry service which used to link railway communication between the northern and northwestern districts and the rest of the country now remains idle except for once or twice a year when it is used for the transportation of boulders, railway slippers and locomotives.
Though the ferry service remains out of use virtually round the year, Bangladesh Railway authorities told New Age that they had no plans to abandon it until the second bridge was built across the Jamuna.
The railway service between Santahar railway junction and Balashi Ghat was opened in 1899-1900 to link the key junction with Bahadurabad Ghat by ferry.
Until then, there was no way travelers could reach Bahadurabad Ghat in Jamalpur from the Santahar junction in Bogra with the Jamuna separating them.
During a recent visit to Balashi Ghat New Age found BR’s lone ferry service virtually abandoned.
In BR’s vocabulary its lone ferry service is called ‘marine route’ while the stations on both the sides of the Jamuna are called ‘marine stations’.
There was no trace of either of the ghats on two sides of the Jamuna, as the ferry berthing facilities are called.
At several stretches of uprooted railway tracks villagers, displaced by erosion, built houses, run bazaars and shops.
Visitors were amazed to see vegetables being grown on the uprooted railway track spaces.
There was no pontoon at Balashi Ghat.
BR officials said that the pontoon had been sent to Narayganj for repairs.
A dilapidated ferry for wagon transportation was anchored at Balashi Ghat.
BR officials said two other ferries were under repairs at Khulna.
BR’s marine superintendent based at Gaibandha for supervising the railway ferry service was not at his office.
According to the records of BR’s marine department under mechanical wing, until 2005 the railway had 25 marine vessels including two passenger ferries, four tugs and four ferry barges for the transportation of wagons across the Jamuna.
Now there are three wagon ferries, one motor tug and three pontoons, show the records.
BR officials said that around 200 employees still in the marine department’s payroll seldom turned up as they have no work.
They said that there was the least possibility of resuming the ferry service in the near future due to non navigability of the Jamuna River.
Besides, they said, businessmen lost the interest to use the ferry service for the transportation of their goods.
BR’s divisional mechanical engineer in charge of marine superintendent Momtajul Islam said Monday that the passenger ferry service was discontinued from July 14, 2005 due to non-availability of passengers.
But the wagon ferry service was not closed for possible emergency needs, he said.
Asked how the ferry service could be operated without the pontoon and the railway tracks, Momtaj said that these facilities were restored whenever the ferry service was run in the rainy season.
He, however, said that the wagon ferry service could not be run from the last year due to non navigability of the Jamuna River.
BR west zone’s chief operating superintendent Belal Uddin said that the marine route was no more commercially viable.
But the BR has no plans to abandon the marine route until the second bridge was built across the Jamuna.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net