A newborn baby boy and his parents have won the opportunity to travel for free for life on the MV Prince Awlad-10 launch, which operates on the Barisal-Dhaka route.
Jhumur Begum, wife of one Harisur Rahman, gave birth to her baby on the launch at around 1am on Friday, with help from some people on the deck.
The launch authorities later gifted her Tk10,000 in cash and declared that the baby, named Ibrahim Khalil Ullah, and his parents would travel on the launch free of cost for life, Supervisor Zillur Rahman said.
Jhumur’s due date was 18 days later, and she was returning home to Barisal with her relatives to prepare for giving birth.
She had been provided with all kinds of facilities, including medicines, Zillur said, adding: "Jhumur boarded the launch at Sadarghat in Dhaka with her brother and sister-in-law on Thursday night. Her labour started after the launch left Dhaka. At that time, seven women, including a midwife and a nurse, who were on the launch, stepped forward to help her.”
A passenger, Rakib, said launches needed to keep a doctor onboard as passengers often fell ill on launches.