Launch owners looking to make easy money during the Eid-ul-Fitr rush are persuading Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) officials to allow their unfit water transports to operate after getting a touch-up or a facelift despite the risk of accidents.
Around 60 three-storey and two-storey launches carry passengers to the southern districts throughout most of the year. But during eid, the number reaches 110-115 craft to face the extra burden of passengers, according to sources.
In the name of special services, owners operate 20-25 ill-equipped launches at this time of the year to make some extra cash. Several dockyards in South Keraniganj are revamping launches - a process which began some 15 days before the month of Ramadan.
BIWTA sources said launch owners, as part of the revamp, only increase the number of cabins in the launches while adding no space to the hull. This often results in capsize, leading to casualties.
A number of applications were said to have been submitted to the BIWTA office before Ramdan seeking permission to increase the carrying capacity of existing launches and to convert single-engine launches into two-engine ones. The permission was granted by taking the fee without officials directly inspecting the launches, sources said.
On May 15, MV Miraz 4 sank in the Rasulpur area of Meghna river in Munshiganj. The authorities said around 56 people, including women and children, died in the accident. A special report on the accident submitted by BIWTA officials said the launch, which was built in 2002, was overhauled in 2008. Built as a single engine launch it had no single or double cabin, but after six years around 11 cabins were made.
The width and space of the launch was increased without modifying the hull which caused it to lose balance and sink, according to the report.
The report noted that Awlad Hossain was the previous owner of MV Miraz 4. He also owned MV Mitali 3 and Moharaz, all built in 2002, and sold those in 2008 after modifications were made. Surprisingly, all of his launches sank in accidents in Pagla, Fatullah and Gozaria. The total death toll was 342.
BIWTA is inspecting 10 launches owned by Awlad operating on the Barguna, Muladi, Poysharhat, Kasherhat and Shariatpur routes. The report added that the investigating committee was also looking into launches carrying passengers on different routes to the southern part of the country.
Mahbub Uddin Ahmed, president of BIWTA, told the Dhaka Tribune no unfit launch would be allowed to operate.
“If a modified launch is to operate, permission has to be obtained. Once an official grants permission, it cannot be described as unfit,” he said.
Saiful Haque Khan, joint director of BIWTA (security), told the Dhaka Tribune steps were taken to ensure the security of homeward bound passengers so that they could have a hassle-free trip to celebrate eid with their families and relatives.
Besides, a special task force is working to ensure security and action will be taken if any irregularity is found, he added.
Meanwhile, a study on launch accidents in the last 20 years revealed that every member of some 393 families had died and another 656 families had lost their primary breadwinners to accidents during this period.
The study titled “Loss of life in launch accidents in 20 years” was prepared by Ashish Kumar Dey, an independent researcher, and was unveiled at a programme organised by PTBnews24.com on Tuesday.
At least 656 separate launch accidents took place between 1994 and 2013 with 5,290 persons confirmed dead and a further 1,236 others declared missing during this period, the study said.
The study noted that more than 24,000 passenger transports operating on the country’s waterways were unregistered and 1,399 of those had no fitness certificate.
