United News of Bangladesh

Shipping and Communication Reporters Forum (SCRF) and the National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways (NCPSRR) on Wednesday urged the government to ban movement of sand-carrying vessels (Bulkheads) from March 25 to April 7 to prevent accidents on waterways during the Eid-ul-Fitr journey. The two organisations also demanded mobile court drives against all types of illegal vessels. In a joint statement, signed by NCPSRR president Mohammed Shahid Mia and SCRF general secretary Lion Mohd Jahangir Alam called for immediate action to conduct mobile court drives across the country. Ban bulkheads movement to avoid waterway accidents during Eid trip: SCRF They urged the Ministry of Shipping, Department of Shipping (DoS), Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), River Police and Coast Guard to pay heed to their demand. The leaders of the organisations called for the involvement of district administration and the district police for preventing waterway accidents. In addition to punishing masters and drivers (sailors) without documents, the statement also demanded that vessel owners be held accountable for employing sailors without proper documents The statement expressed deep concern over frequent waterway accidents and the sinking of cargo boats in different parts of the country after being hit by bulkheads. 22.5 lakh holidaymakers to depart Dhaka via waterways for Eid-ul-Fitr, reports SCRF Despite the restriction on the movement of bulkheads from sunset to sunrise, the statement highlighted that hundreds of bulkheads are operating at night in absence of monitoring by the administration. The SCRF and the NCPSRR said that while the number of registered vessels is 15,000, there are at least 85,000 types of vessels across the country according to Director General of Department of Shipping. Among these, approximately 70,000 vessels are operating illegally, with bulkheads making up at least 6,000 of them, they said. According to the statement, out of 15,000 registered boats, regular annual survey (fitness test) is done only for 8,000. As per the knowledge of the concerned officials of the DoS and BIWTA, the remaining 7,000 unfit boats are plying freely. But the authorities concerned don’t take action against those for unknown reasons, the statement said.

Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Monday urged the government to take effective steps to check waterway accidents in the country. “The tragic accident like Shibchar’s one can’t be accepted. Effective measures must be taken to prevent the waterway accidents,” he said in a condolence message issued over the loss of lives in a speedboat capsize in the Padma River. He also called upon the government to identify those responsible for the accident through an investigation, and take proper legal action against them. Also read: Procuring vaccine from one source was a wrong move: GM Quader GM Quader, also the deputy opposition leader in parliament, demanded justified compensations for the families of the victims. He expressed deep sorrow over the loss of huge lives in the incident. The Jatiya Party chief also prayed for the salvation of the departed souls and conveyed his sympathy to the bereaved family members. Earlier in the morning, at least 26 people died when a speedboat sank in the river in Shibchar upazila of Madaripur district. The Banglabazar-bound speedboat from Shimulia Ferry Ghat capsized in the river after a collision with a sand-laden bulkhead. Also read: Eid-Ul-Fitr: JaPa leader GM Quader greets PM Twenty-six bodies were retrieved from the river with the help of divers from local Fire Service and Civil Defence, police and Coast Guard members. Meanwhile, the local administration formed a six-member committee to investigate the speedboat capsize incident.

At least 484 people were killed and 673 injured in 427 road accidents throughout the country in January this year.

Though the number of launch capsizes has decreased, different type of vessels accident is taking place on inland waterways round the year and deaths of people continue, said a report of two non-government organisations on Saturday.