Home-goers on river routes exposed to faulty vessels

Home-goers on river routes are turning to faulty launches for their journeys ahead of the two major festivals being held in a week.
The number of people using river routes may shoot up by three times this year as Eid-ul-Azha and Sharadiyo Durga Puja are being celebrated almost at the same time. This is set to increase the chances of overloading of the vessels, sector insiders said.
Dilapidated highways, cheaper fares and lower time consumption force more passengers to prefer waterways despite great risks in journeys by overcrowded vessels before Eid-Puja vacations.
Puja is being celebrated between September 30 and October 4 while Eid on October 6.
According to the state-run Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), highest 1.8 million people are set to go to 50 destinations in coastal regions from Dhaka ahead of the major two festivals in next six days.   
The capacity is not more than 0.15 million per day but 0.3 million people will sail towards their homes daily, according to the government organisation.
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, said a BIWTA official.
He said a launch normally plies once in every three or four days under a rotation system.
"But during Eid periods, the launches ply non-stop increasing the number of trips", he said..
BIWTA officials said a vessel can carry 1,000 to 1,600 passengers on an average.
But, during major festivals, each vessel carries passengers 2-3 times the capacity.
Visiting the biggest launch terminal 'Sadarghat' in the city on Tuesday morning, the FE reporter found more gathering of people there than normal days but not a rush.
"More launches leave Sadarghat in the evening compared to that of daytime," Md Shamim, an official at Parabat-2, a private launch said.
About 30-35 ships at Sadarghat were found ready to ply towards the southern region in the evening on the day. When asked, an official of MV Sundarban-8 said many of the faulty vehicles were repaired by their owners two weeks back to provide service ahead of the festivals.
"A few launches have problems even in engines," he said.
An official at the Department of Shipping (DoS) said the department has issued notices to nearly 20 vessels in this regard in last three weeks.
Former vice president of the Inland Water Transport Owners and Passenger Carriers' Association (association of the private launch owners) Shahabuddin Milon assured that no unfit vehicles would ply before Eid and Puja.
He said the vessels which were repaired are not unfit. These just needed a few minor works.
He said the concerned government agency will not give permission to any unfit water vessel to ply.
Mr Milon recognised that the number of home-goers has increased by two and a half to three times during Eid vacation.
"Besides the government agencies and the launch operators, passengers have to be aware of risks," he said.    
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 100. In May, a passenger vessel sank at Munshiganj's Doulatpur area in river Meghna, which claimed nearly 58 lives, according to the BIWTA.

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