Ferry services resumed on the Aricha-Kazirhat route on Saturday after almost two decades.
State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury inaugurated the ferry services on the route at Aricha point in Manikganj district on Saturday morning.
Manikganj-1 MP Naimur Rahman Durjoy, chairman of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority Commodore Golam Sadeque and chairman of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation Syed Mohamamd Tajul Islam were present at the inauguration ceremony.
The ferry service has been relaunched as a government's gift to people travelling to the north-western part of the country on the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
With the resumption of the ferry services, commuters can reach Kazirhat in just one and a half hours from Aricha point while the return journey will take an hour and 20 minutes.
The water boat services on the route were officially relaunched with one Ro-Ro and two medium-sized ferries.
While a passenger bus will have to pay Tk 2,060 to cross the river, a truck driver will have to shell out Tk 1400. Tk 1,000 has been fixed for a microbus, Tk 680 for a car, Tk 100 for a bike and Tk 25 will be charged from each commuter for using the services.
The Aricha-Kazirhat river route will be considered an important link between the northern-western region and Dhaka to cross the river using the ferry services.
Ferry services on the Aricha-Kazirhat route remained suspended since 2001 due to poor navigability. Later, the authorities concerned conducted dredging work to reopen the Aricha-Kazirhat route.
