Bad weather forces BIWTA to shut down some river routes

The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has reportedly shut down a number of river routes because of the inclement weather. An official of the BIWTA said heavy rain led to the closing down of several river transport routes on Thursday. “We shut down a number of river routes due to the adverse weather. These include links to Mawa, Kawrakandi, Daulatdia, Narayangaj and Chandpur,” BIWTA director Shafiqul Haque said. However, BIWTA time keeper Alamgir Hossain admitted that all ferries to Chandpur have set off in the morning. When asked about the closure, he said, “It is a warning signal 2, which means ferries below 65 feet cannot travel. Bigger ferries can.” He added most of the ferries plying to Chandpur are well over 100 feet. “Ferries plying on a number of routes linking Narayanganj, Chandpur’s Matlab, Daulatdia and Kawrakandi are normally 40-45 feet in length. Those would not be allowed to travel," he informed. Weather forecasts had predicted rain following the severe heat wave that gripped the region for the last one week, according to bdnews24.com.