Special launch services from Tuesday

Special launch services will start from Tuesday to facilitate smooth journey of homebound passengers ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, officials said.
Earlier, the launch owners had decided to operate the special services from today (Sunday).
Due to shortage of passengers now, they shifted the schedule of starting the special services from Tuesday, said the officials.
"Based on the flow of travelling passengers over the last few days, the launch owners decided to operate the special Eid services from August 29 instead of August 27," joint director (Traffic) of Dhaka River Port Terminal Jainul Abedin told the FE while visiting the port at Sadarghat in the capital Saturday.
The launch operators said they would operate a good number of launches that would be two times higher than that of the normal time/ season.
"We will operate 20 launches on Dhaka-Barisal route during Eid season to facilitate smooth journey of the passengers," a launch operator told the FE. Normally they operate five to 10 launches on the route.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has taken preparations for providing security to the launch passengers during the Eid season.
Two magistrates from BIWTA, one from department of shipping and another from district administration, and members of law enforcement agencies will be deployed at Sadarghat terminal to ensure safety and security of the passengers.
Around 1.5 million passengers had travelled by launches during the last Eid-ul- Fitr.
"We are expecting 1.5 million to 2.0 million passengers during the Eid-ul-Azha season," Mr Abedin said.
Most of the launch operators have already sold out tickets for the cabin class, according to the ticket sellers of different launch operators. But the passengers could still avail deck-class tickets on the day of their travelling.
The cabin fare for Dhaka-Barisal route ranged between Tk 1,000 and Tk 2,000 each (depending on the category) while single deck ticket is set at Tk 255.
There are three categories of cabin fare of Dhaka- Bhola launch service. The prices are Tk 1,200 (single cabin), Tk 2,400 (double cabin) and Tk 5,000 (VIP cabin). A single deck fare on the route is Tk 300, according to the operators.
"We will not allow any launch operators to increase fare during the Eid season," an influential leader of launch operators' association said.
talhabinhabib@yahoo.com