Ehsanul Haque Jasim :
Launch owners defying the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA)’s instruction are sailing overloaded launches everyday in the rivers, watching the rush of the Eid passengers. On Friday, the Dhaka Sadarghat Launch Terminal witnessed similar scenario, but the administration ignored it.
The BIWTA gave the directive at a meeting with launch owners last week in view of the death of about 300 lives after the Pinak-6 launch sank in the river just after the Eid-ul-Fitr.
The launch owners agreed to the decision. But they are ignoring it and at the same time are collecting extra fare from the passengers, overlooking the government’s fare chart, alleged some passengers.
The owners are also cruising faulty launches. Some passengers said, they prefer journey by river, as launch fares are cheaper and consume less time compared with the journey by road.
Visiting the Sadarghat Launch Terminal it was also seen that the rooftops of the launches were also crowded. When asked about overloaded launches, a driver said that they were carrying passengers on roofs due to pressure of passengers.
BIWTA chairman Samsuddoha Khondaker said that no one would be allowed to ply their vessels if they carry passengers beyond the vessel’s capacity. The plying of bulkhead will remain suspended for 10 days-five days before Eid and five days after the festival, he also said.
Meanwhile, Cabinet Committee on Law and Order decided to deploy additional police forces at the Sadarghat Launch Terminal to check extra passengers on board ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha.
The homebound people of coastal regions are using launch journey with the risk of life. It is estimated that around 18 to 19 lakh passengers will travel on different routes from the Sadarghat Launch Terminal during the Eid, said the officials of the BIWTA.
About 45 to 50 vessels operate every day from Dhaka to different destinations. The number goes up to 120 during the last few days before Eid. A launch normally sails once in every three or four days under a rotation system. But during Eid period, the launches ply non-stop increasing the number of trips.
The BIWTA officials also said that a vessel could carry 1,000 to 1,600 passengers on an average. But, during the festivals, each vessel carries passengers 2-3 times more than the capacity.
A report of the Safe Waterway Implementation Movement, a non-government organisation, revealed that due to overloaded faulty vessels, more than 6,500 passengers were killed in 535 accidents in last 24 years in the country.
However, in August this year, Pinak-6 sank in Munshiganj killing more than about 300 passengers.
