Trawlers ferrying passengers: Travelers on the Paturia-Daulatdia river route are crossing the Padma Riveron trawlers.
As ferry movement on the route is being disrupted due to foggy weather.
Ferry movement on the route was suspended for 13 hours in the last two days and launch movement was suspended for six hours.
Traveling on trawlers in the Padma is risky given the strong current in the river and it gets even riskier during foggy weather.
Ferry terminal sources told Dhaka Tribune that a large number of passengers were traveling on trawlers for the last couple of days
Each was being charged Tk50 to 100 for traveling a 2.5-kilometer distance.
According to them, trawler owners were also carrying motorcycles on the route for Tk500 each despite the fact that they do not have permission for rendering such services.
Small trawlers on the river are ferrying 25 to 30 passengers while the large ones are carrying 70 to 80.
Carrying passengers and vehicles in full capacity amid dense fog can cause the vessel to sink in mid-river, many fears.
Anwar Hossain from Faridpur was traveling on one of the trawlers with his family.
He told Dhaka Tribune that they were in a hurry to reach Dhaka and that they could not wait for the ferry service to resume.
That is why despite life risks, they were traveling on the trawler.
One trawler owner, Bacchu Mia, admitted to Dhaka Tribune that they were rendering passengers a service that is illegal and that is too during foggy weather.
Daulatdia river police official Syed Zakir Hossain said that they were telling trawler owners to stop ferrying passengers on the route.