Lessons learnt from launch disasters

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The latest launch disaster killed once again nearly 50 people, thus, ruining lives of many families. One of the reasons, as identified through the preliminary investigations, is that the poorly-designed ML Sourav was carrying more passengers and cargo than it was permitted to.
Launch disasters have become a recurring nightmare for our country, amid poor observance of rules and regulations by the launch owners and employees as well as poor monitoring by the authorities concerned. Despite such repeated disasters, the authorities have neither taken steps to ensure that this type of preventable mishaps do not occur by enforcing rules nor beefed up the rescue and recovery capabilities in the light of the fact that these accidents take place almost in a regular, routine way. When a disaster occurs, lack of proper and coordinated rescue and recovery drives claims more lives. In most cases, such operations are closed at a premature level. The same thing happened in the case of the latest launch accident in Keraniganj where the operation ended after recovery of 39 bodies. But eight more bodies recovered later by the locals.
We know the authorities will never explain to the people why the rescue operations were brought to an end at such an early stage -- in the morning after the accident, especially when so many people were still to be traced out to ascertain whether they were dead or not. We also do not know whether the matter of compliance with safety rules and regulations concerning the riverine vessels would seriously be looked after to ensure the safety of lives of the passengers.
Rashid Khan
Uttatara
Dhaka