Severe Navigability Crisis on Bhola-Lakshmipur Waterway: 22-Kilometre Journey Now Takes Five Hours

A severe navigability crisis has hit the Bhola-Lakshmipur route, an important waterway in the southern region. Numerous submerged shoals have emerged at eight to ten places along the 22-kilometre route, badly disrupting vessel movement.

The journey that normally took three hours now takes four to five hours. Unable to reach their destinations on schedule, ordinary passengers and vessel workers are suffering every day.

The Bhola-Lakshmipur route is one of the main and easiest means of communication between the island district of Bhola and 21 districts of the country's south-western region. Three ferries and several passenger launches operate on this route every day.

With the arrival of the dry season and winter, submerged shoals have emerged at about eight points of the Meghna River, including Rahmatpur and Katakhali. Vessels are running aground on the waterway at these places.

Because vessels cannot travel straight along the main channel due to the shoals, they have to detour about eight extra kilometres. As a result, the 22-kilometre waterway has effectively grown to about 30 kilometres.

Travelling the extra distance wastes two to three more hours for passengers. At the same time, the vessels are burning additional fuel.

Passengers Adilur Rahman and Jamal Hossain, who travel on this waterway, said that with the start of the winter season, launches cannot reach the terminals on time because of the shoals. They said the lack of regular dredging is pushing passengers' suffering to an extreme day by day, and that if dredging does not start quickly, movement on this route will become completely impossible.

The masters of the ferries 'Kusum Koli', 'Kaberi' and 'Kadam', which operate on this waterway, said that at low tide the water depth in the river drops to only four feet. Operating heavy ferries in such shallow water is very risky, so they are forced to take the long detour and reach their destinations with extra time.

Md Kaiser, the manager in charge of BIWTC Bhola, said the Bhola-Lakshmipur route is extremely important for regional communication, but the submerged shoals have now become the biggest obstacle on this route. Dredging is urgently needed to keep the route normal and navigable, he said.

Affected passengers and transport stakeholders have strongly demanded that excavation work start quickly on this important route of the Meghna River to ensure trade in the southern region and comfortable travel for ordinary people.