Staff Reporter :
The launch owners have proposed to double the existing launch fare on the plea of the recent fuel price hike, but the Shipping Ministry has rejected their proposal saying it is ‘unreasonable’.
The launch fare would be increased reasonably through discussion.
“We have formed a working committee and asked them to submit a report reviewing the situation by Monday’s afternoon,” Shipping Ministry Secretary Mostafa Kamal told reporters after a meeting with launch owners at the secretariat in the Secretariat on Monday.
He said that the ministry will issue a gazette on August 10 regarding new fares following recent fuel price hike.
Launch Owners, in a letter sent to Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) on August 7 proposing to increase the launch fare to Tk4.6 per kilometre from Tk2.3 for first 100 kilometres and hike the fare to Tk4 from Tk2 per kilometre for distance beyond 100 kilometres.
The letter reads that it has become impossible for the owners to operate launches due to the unusual hike of fuel oil. In this circumstance, it is compulsory to hike the launch fare.
On 5 August, the government increased fuel oil prices by 42.5% to 51.6%, the highest in 20 years, dealing a big blow to people already overwhelmed by skyrocketing prices of essential goods amid record inflation.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Division hiked diesel and kerosene prices by Tk34 per litre to Tk114 and octane and petrol prices by Tk46 per litre to Tk135 and Tk130, respectively.
Prices of diesel and kerosene were increased by Tk15 last November and fixed at Tk80 per litre. After the hike in diesel prices, bus fare was hiked by around 27%, launch fares were hiked by 35%.
