Between 5:00am and 7:00am, about 60 large vessels carry thousands of passengers from all over the southern region, bang into berthed launches and anchor off risky places.

Men, women and children of all ages have little option but to get off the launches and struggle up the rear of other launches to reach the terminal. Passengers with luggage suffer even more, as the unruly porters charge them high, taking advantage of lax monitoring.

Regular passengers say minor accidents occur every day and a series of fatalities has taken place over the last 10 years in morning chaos triggered by runaway launches. None of the three traffic inspectors and six berthing sarongs monitors the terminal in the early hours.

According to BIWTA (Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority) officials at Sadarghat, the problem was solved years ago when it was agreed that each vessel should leave the berth for outer anchorage immediately after unloading.

But operators say the arrangement was not realistic, as most launches carry merchandise that takes long time to unload.

"By the time a vessel unloads, other launches arrive and force their way in to find space," said Quamrul Miah, an operator of Parabat, a double-decker launch operating between Bhandaria and Dhaka.

Some operators say many vessels are plying with serious structural damage left by other vessels constantly pushing and shoving for space at the terminal.

"If there is a survey on these vessels, you will find many of them unfit for plying with passengers," an operator says.

Shipping Minister Akbar Hossain told Star City that authorities tried to expand berths at Sadarghat but cancelled the scheme as thousands of boatmen having a landing facility adjacent to the terminal protested it.

"We have decided to decentralise berthing and set up terminals at Mirpur and Shyambazar soon," he said.

The new terminals will not only cut pressure on Sadarghat but reduce traffic jam in the area, the minister added.