Sea truck commercially launched on Cox's Bazar-Maheshkhali route
The sea truck with a capacity of 250 passengers, will make three trips a day on the route
After a successful seven-day trial run, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has officially launched the modern sea-truck 'ST Bhasha Shaheed Jabbar' on the Cox's Bazar-Moheshkhali waterway from today.
Shipping Adviser M Sakhawat Hossain inaugurated the commercial launch of the sea truck, which is expected to ease the commute for the four lakh inhabitants of Maheshkhali island and tourists visiting the place on the nine-kilometre waterway, speeding up the island's economy.
Following the inauguration at 11:00am today, the sea truck, with a capacity to carry 250 passengers, started its first commercial journey from the BIWTA Ghat in Cox's Bazar at 11:25am. It reached the Maheshkhali Jetty Ghat at around 12 noon.
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A large number of people gathered at the Jetty Ghat at that time and welcomed Adviser Sakhawat and his companions, including prominent intellectual Salimullah Khan, who urged to keep the fare affordable and launch an additional sea truck on the route.
Addressing the crowd at the time, Adviser Sakhawat said, "A mafia gang has been operating here for 40-50 years. Due to this gang, it took eight months to bring a sea truck. Dredging could not be done in Jetty Ghat-6 area due to a lawsuit."
He also promised that there will be another sea truck in the future."
The shipping adviser said the fare proposed by BIWTA has been reduced from Tk50 and re-fixed.
As per the rates announced by the adviser, a passenger of the sea truck will have to pay Tk35 for travelling from Jetty Ghat-6 on the Bankkhali River in Cox's Bazar city to Maheshkhali.
On the other hand, passengers will have to pay TK30 for traveling from Nuniarachara Ghat in Cox's Bazar to Maheshkhali.
Apart from this, a toll of Tk5 will be paid once at the ghat.
The sea truck with a capacity of 250 passengers, will make three trips a day on the route.
The operating hours of the sea truck have also been finalised. It will depart from Cox's Bazar for Maheshkhali every day at 8:30am, 12:00pm and 6:00pm.
From Maheshkhali, it will leave at 7:30am, 11:00am and 5:00pm for Cox's Bazar every day.
