FE Report
In the absence of any sort of monitoring by the agencies concerned, the owners of motor vessels operating in long routes are now subjecting the Dhaka-bound passengers to hassles.
All large passenger-launches plying between Dhaka and Barisal compelled passengers to pay at least Tk. 200 more above the normal rate for each double-seated cabin during their home-bound journey on the eve of the holy Eid-ul-fitr. The owners are now following the same coercive method during the Dhaka-bound journey of the people after the Eid-celebration.
What is more surprising is that the profit-hungry launch owners are flouting all rules with total impunity and changing operating schedules according to their whims, subjecting passengers to serious sufferings.
For instance, the launches plying between Dhaka and Barisal are ignoring their officially recognised departure schedule with the objective of making quick money. These launches generally leave Barisal between 6 pm and 7 pm, reach Dhaka between 3 am to 4 am, ask the passengers to disembark immediately and leave for Barisal again without carrying any passenger. These launches would start for Dhaka same evening carrying passengers far more than their actual capacity.
This correspondent personally witnessed the sufferings of at least 5000 passengers early hours of Sunday last. The passengers, who included children and women, generally wait in their respective launches until sunrise for the reasons of safety and availability of transports. Most passengers once out of their vessels did not know how to pass their time until daybreak.
The parents with small children faced the worst problem. The BIWTA terminal at Sadarghat itself could not hold so many passengers at a time. The BIWTA owes an explanation to the users of the passenger launch services in this connection, said a passenger.
Launches defy rules, subject passengers to sufferings
FE Team | Published: October 22, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
Share if you like