Ban on new launches with more than 2 decks under consideration
The government is considering imposing a ban on construction of launches with more than two decks with a view to prevent launch disasters, which cause huge loss of lives every year.
Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan said this in an exclusive interview with The Daily Star at his office in the city yesterday.
"In the future, none would be allowed to build launches with more than two decks," he said, adding that steps would also be taken to phase out such launches operating on the river routes.
"The owners of launches with more then two decks would be requested to convert their vessels into double-decker ones," the minister said.
According to sources, about 5,000 people have been killed in launch disasters since 1991. But the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport (Passenger Carriers) Agency (BIWTPCA) puts the figure at 2,300.
Explaining the reasons behind the government move, Shahjahan Khan said the launches with more than two decks are more vulnerable to accidents, as they can easily lose their balance due to various factors, including overloading of passengers.
"We have discussed the issue at inter-ministerial meetings and experts also expressed the same views in this regard. However, no decision has yet been taken in this regard."
Replying to a query, the minister said, "It is true that just after any launch disasters in the past, the authorities concerned have always vowed to take stern action against the persons responsible and also to take preventive measures. But after some days, they forgot their commitments."
"I can assure you that this government will not do the same. Rather, it will work towards fulfilling its commitments," he said.
"We have plans to evict encroachers from the rivers and restore navigability of the rivers to enable water vessels to operate smoothly," he added.
The government will also take some other decisions to protect river water from pollution through raising mass awareness, said the minister.
"Each launch must have waste bins and garbage bags so that the passengers can put waste into them instead of dumping them into the river," he said.
"We are also trying to introduce some measures so that the launches do not carry more passengers than their capacity and the people also do not board any launches full of passengers."
According to Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority and BIWTPCA, around 600 launches are operating on different routes from Sadarghat Launch Terminal in the city.
The number of launch routes has declined from 51 to 36 in the last 10 years due to lack of navigability and various anti-river activities.
The number of launch passengers has also declined significantly. Earlier, 20,000 people, on an average, used to travel by launches from Sadarghat. But now the number has gone down to 10,000 to 12,000.
According to BIWTPCA Senior Vice-President Badiuzzaman Badal, water vessels carry about five lakh passengers during Eid holidays.
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