State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury has said the government has decided that passenger launches will also carry 50% of its capacity like trains and buses, and launch fares will be hiked from Thursday.
“Launches will run with 50% of its passenger capacity during this year's Eid journey,” told the state minister.
He also urged to the people not to travel unless absolutely necessary as Covid-19 infections have been rising again.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has proposed a 60% hike in launch fare, confirmed BIWTA Chairman Commodore Golam Sadeq.
He said the proposal sent to the Shipping Ministry for approval after a meeting with the launch owners association on Wednesday, while speaking to the media at the Secretariat.
There was a meeting on Eid preparations where launch operators proposed a 60% fare hike just like other modes of public transport, since they too have to operate at 50% capacity in order to mitigate the rise in Covid-19 infections.
The government directed all public modes of transport to operate on 50% of their capacity and maintain health safety guidelines on March 28 to curb upsurge of Covid-19.