Harina ferry terminal wears a deserted look, traders sit idle

CHANDPUR, Aug 30: Once-busy Harina Ferry Terminal in Chandpur has been wearing a completely deserted look since the Padma Bridge opened to traffic.
Vehicles from 11 districts in Chattogram used to cross the Meghna River through the Chandpur-Shariatpur naval route to reach 21 districts in the southwest areas of the country. For this, they had to use ferries in Narsinghpur of Shariatpur and Harina of Chandpur.
But now people are using the Padma Bridge and reaching their destinations in short time, said manager of the terminal Md Aziz.
Local traders, however, who have been doing business at the terminal for around two decades, are now incurring losses since the number of passengers is now quite low than usual.
On a visit to the terminal area, this correspondent saw the place was almost deserted while only a few goods-laden trucks and a microbus were seen waiting for passengers.
Most shops including restaurants have been shut down fearing further loss. Some traders were seen spending idle time in some shops along the terminal.
According to restaurant owner Akir Hossain Khan, shopkeepers Farid Hossain and Mohammad Milon, their business has declined significantly.
Before Padma Bridge, I used to sell Tk 1,500 every day, which has reduced to Tk 500 now, said a peanut seller, Mizan Khan.
Driver of a covered van Nurul Islam who was waiting for a ferry to reach Shariatpur's Alurbazar ferry terminal said, "The 30-kilometre road to reach Shariatpur Sadar is in very bad shape. For this, many do not want to take this naval route."
The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) used to earn Tk 0.7 million every day by operating ferry services, which has come down to half after the opening of Padma Bridge.
At present, no vehicle has to wait much at this terminal as ferries are always available, said an official of the BIWTA.
Jahid Hossain, a BIWTA official, said, "The fare collection from the vehicles using ferry services has come down to about 50 per cent (Tk 0.3 to 0.35 million per day)."

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