Tk 50 crore water vessels of Railway decaying at Balashi and Bahadurabad
Early disposal can still save the functional vessels
Left abandoned by railway marine department three years ago, vessels including ferryboats getting decayed at Balashi Ghat in Gaibandha.Photo: STAR
At least 30 water vessels including two large ferryboats are decaying at Balashi and Bahadurabad railway ferry ghats as they have remained idle since closure of the ferry route in 2005. As the railway marine department is yet undecided about the abandoned boats and structures worth over Tk 50 crore, missing of valuable spare parts and other equipment has become a regular matter. In 2005, the department declared closure of the route, as the river channel lost navigable depth due to deposition of sand and sediments from the upstream. Passenger ferry services had also been sustaining losses at that time. The water transports that have been staying idle at Balashi and Bahadurabad ghats for years are gradually decaying as little care is taken about them, said sources at railway marine department office at Gaibandha. The fleet comprises large ferryboats MV Suhrawardi and MV Sher-e-Bangla anchored at Balashi ghat, four wagon loading barges, four tugboats, three ferry pontoons, three bathing pontoons, a floating workshop, a floating store, two floating office boats, three marking boats, a speedboat, a shore guarder, two guarder boats, a welding boat, a motor launch and a floating marine office bungalow. Wagon loading barges and tugboats are still operated during the rainy season when water of the Jamuna increases to navigable level and that continues for seven months a year. A floating office-cum-bungalow of the railway marine department sank into the Jamuna a couple of years ago and it was auctioned for a 'negligible' price, sources said. Railway marine office sources said carrying goods by wagons is still profitable and at present 100 to 150 wagons ply between Balashi and Bahadurabad ghats. Ferryboat MV Sonargaon was disposed off to Inland Water Transport Corporation (IWTC) a few years back while process is on to sell two ferry boats, a tugboat, an office pontoon and a motor launch, said Kazi Md Salim, Railway marine superintendent at Gaibandha. The abandoned water vessels should be disposed off immediately to save them from getting damaged, said a railway official.
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