Ferry movement on the Shimulia-Kathalbari route has been hampered by the strong currents of the mighty Padma and bad weather. Besides, services of speedboats and launches have also been suspended because of the foul weather. Several hundred vehicles, including cattle-carrying trucks, have been stranded at Kathalbari and Mawa points.

Only six to seven ferries out of 18 are being operated on this route, sources in the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) told The Independent yesterday. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) told this correspondent that though

weather conditions would improve a little from Friday, there were chances of rain during Eid-ul-Azha holidays and even on Eid day.

On the other hand, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast that heavy rainfall was likely over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura from August 11 and would continue for the next 48 hours.

However, the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) yesterday forecast that waters of the Ganges and Padma rivers would continue to increase in next 48 hours.

A large number of passengers of launches, speedboats and buses have been stranded on both sides of the ferry terminal on the Shimulia-Kathalbari route since Wednesday. Besides, sacrificial animals are falling ill after being stranded for a long time in trucks on the Kathalbari side and traders fear they might suffer losses.