The New Nation - Internet Edition

Our Correspondent, Barisal

Most of the motor launches plying on the river routes of southern areas of the country do not have fitness certificate. As a result lakh of people are traveling on these launches at the risk of their lives.

According to BIWTA, there are 88 river routes in the southern part of the country. Out of these 88 river routes, 38 are connected with Dhaka. On the rest of the river routes, small launches ply. According to official figures more than a lakh people ply on the 88 river routes every day. Though actual figures of launches are not known, but fitness certificates have been issued only to 106 launches, while hundreds of launches and trawlers are plying without any fitness certificate.

In addition to this drawback, these launches mostly are driven by in experienced unskilled serangs and drivers. Almost none of river launches has emergency life saving equipment. The rivers inside Barisal Division are mostly large and rough. Hence the passengers are always at risk.

Launches even having fitness certificate do not have sufficient life saving apparatus. To avoid income tax they show less carrying capacity and there is also absence of cleaness in obtaining fitness certificate. According to rules, each launch is supposed to have one life-buoy for each four passengers. But even none of the big launches plying on Dhaka-Barisal route has the required amount of buoys. Sundarban-7 has 153 buoys, Surari-6 has 125, Surari-7 has 107 while Kirtton Khola launch has 100 buoys only, but each of them carry more than thousand passengers regularly.

In dry season 14 hundred kilometres of river route of southern part of country become unfit for navigation due to back of depth while in monsoon time the routes become risky due to sunken chars and absence of signal lights.

Launches on Dhaka-Barisal route are plying on rotation system fixed by launch owners. According to this system, 4 launches leave every day from each end of Dhaka-Barisal route, though as per IWTA rules six launches are to leave every day from each end. Due to shortage of launches each launch is always overburdened with passengers. Security of passengers seems to be of no concern to anyone.