Holidaymaking with risky launches

Launches and other watercrafts are the main mode of transport in the country's southern region crisscrossed by rivers. However, passengers remain vulnerable to accidents, especially ahead of the Eid, as a large number of the motor boats are without required fitness and competent drivers. Photo: STAR

Thousands of home-bound passengers ahead of Eid are taking risky journey in unfit launches, trawlers, small engine boats and speedboats on the turbulent rivers in the southern region during the ongoing monsoon.
Barisal city now sees heavy rush of home-bound Eid passengers from different parts of the country including capital Dhaka.
But passengers bound for their village homes in remote areas of Barisal and adjoining districts often have to travel in unfit vessels in the waterways that serve as the main transport in the region.
Lack of safe water transport, absence of road connectivity in many places, awful condition of rundown roads and higher cost of road journey have led to the situation, several passengers said.
Taking the opportunity of the rush of passengers, a section of water transport owners are using their old and unfit vessels in 29 southern river routes from Barisal.
They defy all safety standards even amid the rough weather caused by monsoon rain accompanied by high waves, strong current and gusty wind ahead of the upcoming new-moon.
Sources of Barisal River Port admitted that most of the water transports plying the routes do not have skilled, trained or licensed crew.
Shipping ministry has formed an authority for 'river safety and traffic management', empowering them to stop plying of the unfit vessels, said Kazi Wakil Newaz, deputy director BIWTA in charge of Barisal river port.
Sources, however, said Barisal port authorities under BIWTA and the district administration are operating mobile courts only to check documents and prevent overloading mainly on Dhaka-Barisal routes.
Forty-one motor launches, running from Barisal to 38 destinations on 29 routes of Barisal, Jhalakathi, Barguna, Patuakhali, Pirojpur and Bhola districts, are daily carrying more than 50 thousand passengers along with goods during the ongoing rush days ahead of Eid, said Abdul Hamid Master, president of Water Transport Workers League.
Only four of the launches, mostly single decker and semi-double decker, are over 65 feet long while the 37 others are less than 65 feet in length, sources said, adding that 24 of the 41 launches have no trained masters and drivers. A section of sukani and other staff drive these launches. Seventeen other launches have trained master but no trained driver.
Most of these launches are allegedly without any fitness certificate and route permits but the matter detected only after a launch causes a serious accident.
"Appointing trained masters and drivers in the launches plying the local routes seems too expensive as they have small number of passengers round the year except during rushes centring the two Eid festivals," said Golam Mawla, president of district launch owners association.
In addition to the 41 launches, around 200 trawlers and 50 speedboats without any registration, fitness certificate and route permit ply different routes of the region with passengers and goods from Kali Babur Kheya Ghat, DC Ghat and Barisal port.
Safety measures are utterly ignored as unskilled and untrained people, even tender-aged boys and physically unfit old men often drive such water transports.