Padma Bridge changes Paturia-Daulatdia ferry terminal, thousands lose their livelihoods

The Paturia-Daulatdia ferry terminal in Manikganj was once busy day and night with long lines of vehicles, waiting passengers and crowds. On this main river route for people from 21 districts of the south-west travelling to the capital, passengers and drivers spent hours waiting to cross by ferry.

That scene has changed since the Padma Bridge opened. Vehicle numbers, passenger pressure and ferry activity have all fallen.

Thousands of people, including hawkers, small traders and workers, have lost their livelihoods because of the change at the terminal. Many of those who remain face an uncertain living.

The Padma Bridge, linking Munshiganj's Mawa with Shariatpur's Jajira, was inaugurated on 25 June 2022 and opened to traffic on 26 June. After that, people from most districts of the south-west began choosing the Padma Bridge for travel to Dhaka, which directly affected the Paturia-Daulatdia route.

Before the bridge opened, thousands of vehicles and people crossed on this route every day. During Eid and other holidays, long lines of vehicles formed at the terminal and buses, trucks, private cars and passengers waited for hours. That waiting was a main source of income for small businesses around the terminal.

Hawkers sold food moving from ferry to ferry. There were small hotels, tea stalls and various shops around the terminal, with sales all day in the passenger crowds. As vehicle pressure fell, that trade collapsed. Many shops have closed and many hawkers have been forced to change their work.

Mokhles runs a small grocery shop at Paturia ferry terminal number 3. He said income was very good before the Padma Bridge and supported his family, but now there are no vehicles, no jams and few people, and what he earns does not run the household.

Hotel trader Harun said sales have completely ended after the Padma Bridge opened. His family once lived well, and now they survive somehow on simple food.

Pineapple seller Abdul Jalil, from the ferry terminal area, said sales have also fallen as vehicles and passengers decreased after the bridge opened.

A hawker named Samad said he now earns 400 to 500 taka a day. He is the only earner in his family, so meeting expenses has become difficult.

Not only traders, passengers and drivers also spoke of suffering. They said ferries are now often delayed because there are not enough vehicles, while at other times vehicles are at the terminal but no ferry is available.

Jahangir Hossain, a staff member of a Sohag Paribahan bus, said jams and suffering have fallen a lot compared with before, but crossing by ferry is still difficult. Raising the suffering of Rajbari-Faridpur passengers, he demanded a bridge on this route soon.