We are concerned about the frequent accidents on the river routes of the country. Accident in the waterways is causing huge loss of human lives.
A woman and a child died as a boat carrying 40 passengers sank into a tributary of Padma river near Hasail in Tongibari upazila of the district after collision with a bulkhead. The Hasail Bazar-bound Kheya boat capsized in the river after hitting the bulkhead in dark around 6.15 am on Saturday while it was coming from Miah Bari ghat of Hasail char. Besides, one person died and five others sustained injuries in a collision between two launches at Miar Char in the Meghna River on the border of Haimchar Upazila of Chandpur early on December 11.
Another collision occurred between two launches, Chandpur-bound MV RAF RAF-7 and Patuakhali-bound MV AR Khan-1, due to dense fog in Mohanpur area of Matlab Uttar upazila of Chandpur on the same day.
Apart from the Padma River, travelling on country’s most waterways for any purpose has now become risky due to desperate plying, an uncontrolled increase in the number of vessels and lack of oversee. This tragic accident questioned about the safety of the country’s water transportation sector once again.
We fear there could be more accidents on the different river routes of the country if the government does not give utmost importance to ensuring security and convenience of the passengers and bring discipline in plying of water transports in the county’s river routes. On the other hand, as many people along with their families travel by the inland waterways, the shipping ministry have to form necessary vigilance teams to monitor the overall situation of waterway sector to ensure passenger safe journey.
Dense fog and cold disrupt life with waterways communication remaining suspended in the early hours of daytime and cause accidents during the winter season, the ministry must conduct operations to deter and stop illegal water passenger vessel operators across the country. Such deadly accident can be averted if the regulatory and monitoring agencies of the water transport sector plays due role.
The government will have to take strict measures against owners of unlicensed and run-down water vessel. We also express dissatisfaction with the authorities concerned for their negligence in keeping the waterway a safe journey for people.
Country’s most
waterways for any purpose
has now become risky
Their negligence is resulting in such repeated tragic deaths in either river or other water ways. Competitive attitudes among the workers of water transports to reach destinations early, inefficiency, desperateness, lack of training and awareness among workers, and not following rules while overtaking vessels are causing fatal disasters on waterways.
We think ensuring safe journey is the responsibility of the government. The authorities concerned will have take firm steps to fulfil its responsibility in order to ensure safety of the people, who travel by water vessels throughout the country.
We also demand legal action against those responsible for the trawler capsize and urge the government to form an ‘effective probe’ committee to unearth what really caused the accident. Unskilled sailing trawler man or boatman and lack of fitness are the main reasons for naval accidents.
Launches and other water vessels, thousands of engine-driven trawlers and boats ply in different waters ways like rivers, canals and beel across the country. The authorities concerned will have to take necessary steps to prevent recurrence of such incidents in the future.
Besides, we also urge all concerned, including the owners of trawlers, workers and passengers to cooperate with the government in stopping accidents on waterways. Apart from these, vigilance teams will have to be deployed by the local administrations in their respective areas to strengthen monitoring over unfit water vessels to put an end to accidents on waterways.
Simultaneously, all river transports should carry sufficient lifebuoys and ensure lights and markings while plying the water ways. The government must take necessary steps in a coordinated and disciplined manner in a bid to ensure safe journey of people.