The government yesterday launched water taxi service in the capital's Hatirjheel in a bid to ease travelling to adjacent areas including Rampura and Badda.

Every day four water taxis will cruise the water body from 6:00am and 10:00pm, said a Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha official.

A commuter will have to pay Tk 30 to go to Badda Link Road from the FDC area and Tk 25 to go to Rampura Bridge from the FDC, he added.

The service will bring a significant change to the transport service in the capital. And, if successful, it could be expanded to Gulshan Lake through Baridhara, he hoped.

When inaugurating the taxi service, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the service would ease travelling to Karwan Bazar, Moghbazar, Dilu Road, Eskaton, Bangla Motor and Tejgaon areas from Badda, Gulshan, Rampura, Khilgaon and other eastern parts of the city.

Maj Gen Abu Sayeed Md Masud, who coordinated the Hatirjheel project and is currently the chief coordinator of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge project, informed that there was a plan for running such taxis in the water body under the Hatirjheel project and the service was launched as part of that plan.

Each of the taxis, to be run by Karim Group, has the capacity to carry as many as 30 passengers. And, two more taxis will be added to the fleet.

The minister said they already gave approval for setting up a new police station at Hatirjheel to ensure security in the area, which would soon be inaugurated. Commending the initiative, Asif Ahmed, a private company staff in Sonargaon area, said if maintained properly, the taxis could not only increase transport facilities, but also be used for pleasure trips.