So far 69 bodies have been recovered after an engine boat carrying over 100 Hindu devotees, heading for a temple on the other side of the Karatoa River to perform Mahalaya rituals, sank near Auliar Ghat under Mareya Union of Boda Upazila in Panchagarh on September 25.
Locals say they have never witnessed or heard of any boat capsize incident in the area where so many people lost their lives.
It is also the worst waterway accident the country has witnessed since the devastating fire on a Barguna-bound launch on December 24 last year, which claimed 50 lives.
Panchagarh Fire Service Assistant Director Sheikh Mahbubul Alam said 69 bodies had been found so far. Of the 69 deceased, 18 were men, 30 were women and 21 were children. Three others still remain missing.
Dhaka TribuneSeveral eyewitnesses, law enforcers, rescuers and temple committee leaders spoke to this correspondent regarding the tragedy that has shaken the nation and exposed the culture of negligence and reluctance of the people and authorities involved.
They blame the lack of sufficient boats, mismanagement and indifference of the lessee and the boatman, as well as lack of awareness among the devotees for this terrible incident and loss of life. Had they performed their role correctly, many lives could have been saved.
“It was drizzling that day (September 25) from dawn till 9:30am. So the devotees could not leave for the Bodeshwari Temple to perform the Mahalaya rituals of the Durga Puja on time. They started gathering at Auliar Ghat around 10am. But there were not enough boats, so the pilgrims could not cross the Karatoa River, which had some currents that day. The Bodeshwari Temple is just across the river, after crossing the waterway for 500 meters. Since the Mahalaya's prayer time was also going on, the devotees waiting at the ghat became impatient.
Dhaka Tribune“It was almost half past two in the afternoon. As soon as a big engine-powered boat arrived at Auliar Ghat on the west bank, many women and children boarded it together. With more than twice the capacity of passengers, the trawler sailed at risk to the load. The distance is around 500 metres, and it takes two to three minutes to cover it. But the boat sank in the middle of the river with passengers,” said Nitish Kumar Bakshi, president of Bodeshwari Temple Management Committee under Barashashi Union.
Assistant Secretary of the committee Gauranga Roy echoed Nitish Kumar’s remarks while talking to this correspondent, describing the background to the tragic incident on September 25.
Gauranga Roy, a former member of Ward No 2 of Barashashi Union, said: "The distance from Auliar Ghat to Barashashi Ghat on the east is hardly 400 to 500 metres. Too many people have died while attempting to cross the waterway.”
He added: "On the day, I was the first to take a bath in the river. Later, when I asked the boatman and his assistant about the rest of the boats, they told me they had managed to bring five boats [to ferry passengers to and from the temple] and all boats would arrive on time. But in the end, there were only two boats.”
Mahbub Alam Pradhan, a former UP member of Mareya Union, said: "This incident happened in front of my house. I am 60, and I’ve never heard of any such boat capsize incident in this ghat, or river. My father and uncles never told me about such an incident.”
Dinbandhu, a Village Police member at the ghat, said: "We were seven people on duty that day. Police and Fire Service personnel were also there. Hand mikes were used to alert the passengers repeatedly. But the people didn't listen. Everyone boarded the boat, and it sank.” He also observed that the lessee should have allotted more boats considering the rush on the occasion of the Puja rituals.
Quoting a police member named Matiar, who was on duty at the ghat, his colleague Minarul said that at least four more boats should have been added that day.
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Mashiar Rahman, a member of Ward No 6 of Mareya Union, was on the bank of the river when the boat sank. The lessee had no preparation for such a big event.
“Everyone knew that there would be a crowd on the occasion of Mahalaya. But, there was no bamboo barricade to control the pressure. Again, there was only one big boat for so many people. The local UP chairman also boarded that boat. But he got down later due to overcrowding,” said Mashiar.
He added that the Bodeshwari temple committee should also have been careful to avoid the accident. They could have asked the lessee or the administration to raise the number of boats.
Akhil Roy, cultural affairs secretary of Mareya Union unit Awami League, said that the temple committee had sat with the ghat operators and requested them to increase the number of boats to six on the day of Mahalaya. But they did not pay heed to the request. They took no measures to control the crowd.
Eyewitnesses Shaheen and UP Member Mashiar said that the boat was sinking before leaving the ghat. In that situation, the police and Fire Service members on duty prohibited the boatman from crossing, but he did not care.
When the boat reached the middle of the river, it swayed to and fro. At that time, the sailor turned the boat and tried to return to the ghat. But as he turned violently, the boat tilted to one side and overturned. Most drowned as people fell on top of people. Many people swam to the river bank.
According to information provided by the Union Parishad, Auliar Ghat is leased under Panchagarh Zilla Parishad. The current lessee of the ghat is Abdul Jabbar. He is a resident of Kumarpara village under Boda Upazila. Attempts to contact him to inquire about the accident went in vain. Police also said that he was absconding.
The district administration formed an investigation committee immediately after the incident. The investigators also could not reach Jabbar.
Even though Jabbar took the ghat on lease, Barashashi Union Ward No 2 Member Tara Mia and some others managed it. Tara Mia became “sick”, and the family members took him to the hospital in an ambulance immediately after the boat sank. Five days after the incident, he returned home on Friday. However, it was not possible to contact him in this regard.
Nitish Kumar said: "The Mahalaya preparation committee members held a meeting with the local administration and the police, and requested them to arrange for smooth movement of the devotees.
“We were reassured by the presence of police and Fire Service personnel at the ghat on that day (September 25)…they could have avoided this incident by not allowing so many people to board the boat and by preventing the boatman from leaving the ghat in that condition.”
He said the temple committee had arranged a bath for around 20,000-25,000 devotees on the river bank and the temple premises that day by demarcating the place with bamboo. All the devotees, including women and children, took a holy bath there without any accident.
“We did not focus on ferrying devotees by boats as the administration and the lessee took over the responsibility. Yet, our committee people repeatedly went to the ghat to request the lessee to increase the number of vessels. But they not heed,” Nitish Kumar added.
