\'Unfit vessels\' being given a facelift to cope with Eid rush

Special launch service will start from June 23 with over 50 additional vessels being added to the existing fleet to carry an increasing number of home-bound people on the occasion of upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr.   
Usually, 75 to 80 launches ply 41 river routes from Sadarghat terminal to southern districts every day. But during the Eid vacation, the number of vessels will be raised to 130-135 a day, sources said.
However, a section of launch owners are reportedly giving their run-down or unfit vessels a facelift to make a hefty income for the mad rush of passengers, they said.
More than half a million people are expected to leave the capital for the southern districts during the Eid vacation through Sadarghat Launch Terminal.
To give them a new look, the vessels were being painted at dockyards on the bank of the Buriganga River just opposite Sadarghat.
People doing repair work of launches told the FE that they were receiving orders from the launch owners for refurbishing their vessels ahead of Eid.  
"Launch owners contact us before Eid for refurbishing their vessels. It is not our headache whether the launch has fitness certificate or not," an owner of a launch repair workshop told the FE.
It was found that around 30 small and large unfit vessels were under refurbishment work at Dakkhin Keraniganj on Thursday and Friday last.
   Workers were seen busy mending defects and doing welding works on the bodies of the launches.
Over 5,500 people died and 1,236 went missing in launch accidents across the country over the last 20 years due to travel by unfit and risky water vessels, according to Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) data.
Meanwhile, BIWTA said all preparations are set to ensure a hassle-free and safe journey for the home-bound passengers during Eid.
During the visit to Dhaka River Port Terminal at Sadarghat on Thursday and Friday last, this correspondent found that the BIWTA officials were busy working on a plan to ensure hassle-free travel for launch passengers during the vacation.    
BIWTA planed to set up closed-circuit cameras at 30 entry and exit points of Sadarghat terminal.
Besides, around 2,500 police, RAB, coast guard and Ansar members and over one hundred scouts will be working from June 21 at the terminal and other launch stations.
"We will provide security services to the passengers to facilitate their smooth journey," said Zainul Abedin, joint director (traffic) of BIWTA, Sadarghat terminal.
Apart from regular passenger camp, he said, a 14,500 square feet room would be opened at Sadarghat launch terminal on June 21 so that passengers could take rest here.
Surveillance would be stepped up to stop launches from carrying extra passengers, he said, adding that BIWTA has increased the number of berthing/pontoon to 21 from existing 19.
A meeting between the government, launch owners and other stakeholders will be held tomorrow (Sunday) at Sadarghat terminal for ensuring safe journey for home-bound passengers during the Eid, a high official of BIWTA told the FE.
Meanwhile, taking passengers' safety into consideration, the department of shipping (DS) will inspect all the launches and look into safety measures for the passengers before allowing them to start journey.
"We will intensify our monitoring drive after Ramadan 20 to ensure safe journey for home-bound passengers during the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr," director general (DG) of the department of shipping Commodore Syed Ariful Islam told the FE.  
He said his department does not provide fitness certificates to the launches if they lack safety measures.
Over 1,000 launches will carry passengers during the Eid season across the country, according to BIWTA.  
Bangladesh Inland Waterways (Passenger Carriers) Association has decided that they will not raise launch fares during the Eid vacation.
An influential leader of the association told the FE that they will not increase launch fares as it will add to the woes of passengers.
The fare for deck for one way journey between Dhaka and Barisal is fixed at Tk 250 while the fare for cabin ranging between Tk 1,000 and Tk 2,000 will remain unchanged.
    talhabinhabib@yahoo.com