Travellers are facing long waits to board ferries at the Paturia pier as the rush of southbound traffic from Dhaka intensified ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha holidays, bdnews24.com reports.
A 2.5-km-long tailback, mostly made up of night coaches, stretched from the Paturia Police Control Room to Bhanga early on Friday.
"The pressure of heavy vehicles has been higher since last night. Around 150 vehicles are on the road. The terminal is bustling with vehicles and travellers," said Abdul Salam, manager of BIWTC's Paturia office.
Since its opening, most of the south-bound traffic has been passing through the Padma Bridge via the Maowa-Zajira route. As a result, the Paturia-Daulatdia waterway has been relatively pressure-free.
However, the situation started changing on Thursday, the last working day before the long Eid weekend. The terminal has been teeming with buses from Dhaka's Gabtoli heading to different districts in the country's south.
BIWTC official Salam said 20 ferries are currently operating at the terminal.
Sergeant Md Shiblu, who was on duty at pier No. 5, said about 100 vehicles were waiting for a ferry.
Jamal Hossain, a passenger of Shyamnagar-bound Joy Paribahan in Satkhira, said, “There is heavy congestion on the highway. I left Gazipur at 7 pm on Thursday and it took me almost 11 hours to reach Paturia. I've been waiting for a couple of hours now to catch a ferry," said Jamal Hossain, who is travelling to Satkhira's Shyamnagar by bus.
Hafizur Rahman, who is heading to Chuadanga for the holidays, said his bus was supposed to leave Dhaka's Abdullahpur at 11 pm but was delayed by two hours. “We reached the terminal in six hours and have been sitting here for the last hour and a half. It may take another hour to get on a ferry.”
The sweltering summer heat has added to the woes of travellers, especially women and children.