The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) on Thursday resumes its waterbus service on the Dhaka circular waterway to avert the nagging traffic congestion of the capital.The shipping minister Shajahan Khan put into operation of two new waterbuses at Gabtoli Waterbus Landing Station in the capital.
The water bus service would be launched only between Sadarghat and Gabtoli (Aminbazar) distance.
Ananda Chandra Biswas said the buses would ply from Saturday to Thursday from 7:30am to evening.
A passenger can travel with the minimum fare at Tk 25 and maximum Tk 40 on the Sadarghat-Shoary Ghat-Kholamura-Gabtoli route.
The waterbus would ply on the river route from 8am to 5:30 pm, every 45 minutes gap.
Each of the two new waterbuses can accommodate 81 passengers.
Earlier the BIWTC was scheduled to resume the service on May 15 this year but they failed to do that as the manufacturing company – Dhaka
Dockyard and Engineering Works – did not hand over two new buses to the corporation.
On August 28, 2010, the shipping minister had inaugurated the waterbus service.
But the BIWTA had to stop the service in February 2012 as it failed to attract the passengers and shifted the two waterbuses to ply the Mawa-Char Janajat route.
Shajahan Khan said, “the waterbus would help people to avert the nagging traffic congestion of the city. Passengers could move easily to their destination.”
He also said that the government has procured three dredgers for the dredging of rivers.
“We are working procure 11 more dredgers. Of them eight would be procured this year and rest of them would be procured next year,” he said.
The minister said that the government is very active to free the rivers from encroachment and pollution.
“We have erected demarcation pillars and constructed walkways to protect the rivers from encroachment,” he added.
The minister also highlighted different other initiatives taken by the government to provide better services in the river route.
Among others, secretary of shipping ministry Syed Manjurul Islam, BIWTC chairman Mojibar Rahman, were present on the occasion.
– Staff Reporter
