Speedboats start plying two routes from Tongi

The water transport authority on Saturday launched a speedboat service on two routes from Tongi as part of reviving its circular waterway around the capital.
Initially, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) dep-loyed five speedboats-three on the Tongi-Kadda route and two on the Tongi-Ulukhola route-with an intent to ease traffic between Abdullahpur and Tongi.
State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury inaugurated the service at Tongi River Port where state minister for youth and sports Zahid Ahsan Russell was also present.
At the event, Mr Chowdhury said the service was experimental. If it gained popularity, more such routes would be introduced with more speed boats.
The BIWTA has a plan to operate a similar service on the Kadda-Gabtoli and Gabtoli-Sadarghat routes in future, he added.
The fare for a 25-minute speedboat ride on the Abdullahpur-Kadda route has been fixed at Tk 150 while it is Tk 120 for a 20-minute trip on the Abdullahpur-Ulukhola route.
The boats will be run by Messrs Infinity Maritime from early morning to evening.
However, the BIWTA introduced launch and waterbus services at least four times in the past two decades, but all stopped operating after months because of "passenger shortage".
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