The Passenger Welfare Association on Monday demanded legal action against those responsible for the boat accident on the Padma River and asked to provide compensation to the families of victims.
Passenger Welfare Association Secretary General Md Mozammel Haque Chowdhury placed the demands through a press release.
"Amid the lockdown and risky nor ’wester season, carrying 30-35 passengers without life jackets on a speedboat with the capacity for carrying 8-10 passengers reflects the negligence prevailing in the water transportation system across the country," said the general secretary.
He demanded the lodging of a murder case against the staff of the institution responsible for the negligence in waterway safety. He also demanded they pay Tk10 lakh compensation to the family of each of the deceased and Tk5 lakh to each of the injured.
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Passenger Welfare Association data collected from newspapers shows that 773 lives were lost in 601 waterway accidents from 2018 till date. A further 912 people were injured and 1,166 others went missing in these accidents.
On Monday, at least 26 people died when a speedboat sank in the Padma River near Kathalbari Ferry ghat in Shibchar upazila of Madaripur district.
The identities of the deceased are yet to be ascertained.
The speedboat, bound for Banglabazar from Shimulia Ferry Ghat, capsized in the river after a collision with a sand-laden bulkhead, Mohammad Raihan of the Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters Station Office (Media cell) said.
