AT least 26 people were killed in a speedboat capsize on Monday in Padma River after the boat crashed into a sand laden bulk carrier in Madaripur. Only four passengers were rescued, said a report in a national daily. As has always been the case the report suggests, the accident this time is also being blamed on an unskilled driver and passengers not using protective life-jackets. The speedboat owned privately was not registered and driver had no operating licence.
The local administration has formed a six-member committee to probe into the accident but in our view the reasons were clear but it needs to be determined how such illegal speedboat services were being operated violating existing laws. Now local terminal officials are blaming each other for illegal operation of the speedboat service. It is clear every agency like BIWTA and law enforcement officials are individually and collectively responsible. It has to be ascertained how such illegal services are even allowed breaking the lockdown restrictions and without ensuring passengers safety onboard. We would say it does not need a committee to determine responsibility but this is essentially a way the administration always tends to bury issues and sidetrack liability of its agencies.
The question is who will take responsibility for so many deaths in which some families were totally wiped out. In such cases, no insurance, no accountability and no punishment is ever seen. Wealthy people operate transports on rivers, roads and highways and powerful workers unions outmaneuvre any move to discipline them.
We would say fatalities from traffic accidents have been taken as part of our people’s normal fate.
