At least 4,621 people were killed and 977 others went missing in 571 incidents of launch capsize across the country over the last 15 years, reveals a study, reports UNB.
The study was conducted by the National Committee to Protect Shipping, Road and Railway Sectors (NCPSRR) from 1999 to 2013.
The NCPSRR compiled the study details based on reports published in 14 major national dailies, and on the information provided by rescued and injured victims.
The NCPSRR study identified mainly four reasons behind the accidents on river routes. Inappropriate designing of marine vessels as well as approval of that faulty designs have been identified as a major cause for river vessel accidents.
Issuing registration and annual fitness certificates without scrutinising structural and technical faults has been another major reason behind the accidents.
Recruitment of unskilled drivers and masters, overloading and illegal movement of vessels on waterways are also responsible for the incidents of capsize, the NCPSRR report added.
The study report mentioned that around 5.0 million people in the country are directly dependent on waterways for communication, while the livelihood of 15.0 million people are indirectly related to river transportations.
According to government statistics, 12,275 motorised marine vessels - of which 2,188 were passenger vehicles - were registered until December 31, 2010. However, the real number of river vessels is much higher than the registered ones, according to the NCPSRR.
The NCPSRR study claimed that nearly 25,000 passenger vessels are plying different river routes across the country. Of them, 22,812 vessels have no registration.
The report also noted that more than 13,000 unregistered vessels are carrying goods across the country illegally.
The department concerned has failed to give fitness certificates after examining the river way registered vehicles for lack of adequate manpower.
The Department of Shipping (DoS) has the ability to issue 789 fitness certificates after inspecting passenger vessels on average every year.
