Can overloading be a right?

LAUNCH owners at a meeting with BIWTA on Monday came up with the demand that their vessels be allowed to take more passengers than permitted during the upcoming Eid rush. Their justification is that if they are to strictly adhere to the government-set passenger limits, then the owners would have to count losses. The proposition is ill-conceived, especially after last month's river tragedy, in which the ill-fated launch, Pinak-6, sank in Padma near Lauhajang with some 200 people on board. Needless to say, the disaster took place because of overloading four times the vessel's capacity.

The launch owners are certainly not so naive as not to understand that the limit to the capacity of a river-going vessel is not determined arbitrarily, but scientifically. We believe the authorities concerned have strictly followed the rules in setting the passenger-bearing capacity of their respective launches. In that case, there cannot be any question of compromising on the limits set for those vessels. In particular, travel on the launch's deck is better discouraged, because it portends the danger of tilting the vessel.

To ensure safe travel, the government must show zero-tolerance towards any lapse in strictly maintaining the rules at the loading and unloading points at every major terminal as well as onboard the vessels.

Since passenger rush during Eid is disproportionately high, BIWTA as well as private launch owners should consider increasing the number of vessels through special efforts.