Ferry owners are unwilling to reduce fares this Eid, saying that the government understates the passenger capacity of the vessels. They say that they never carry more than capacity, not even during Eid. They have their own calculations.
At meeting held on Monday regarding ferry service and passenger safety during Eid, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) proposed a reduction in fares. They reason that there is no lack of passengers during Eid and so it is only justified that fares come down. Fares were decreased last Eid too.
It was also said that that carrying excessive passengers was the main cause of launch (ferry) accidents and that stern action would be taken against any overloading of vessels during Eid.
However, Mahbub Uddin Ahmed, chairman of the launch owners' Inland Water Transport Association, tells Prothom Alo that their vessels never carry excessive passengers. He says that the figure determined by the government in the registration and survey papers is not the actual capacity. He says, "Would we take on extra passengers and sink our own launches? A vessel costs 100 million taka. Extra passengers may mean an additional 100 thousand taka in fares. Why would I sink my vessel for this?"
Mahbub Uddin Ahmed (Bir Bikram) owns the launch MV Sonar Tori which plies the Dhaka-Chandpur route. He has also purchased another launch, Asha Jaowa. He hasn't changed its name as yet. He says his 225 ft Sonar Tori can carry far more passengers that fixed by the government.
The shipping department has fixed the passenger capacity of launches in accordance to the inland passenger vessel regulations of 2001. Chief Engineer AKM Fakhrul Islam yesterday, Tuesday, said that the space for each passenger on a launch during the daytime is fixed at 1.25 sq metres and at night 2.25 sq metres. This has been determined in keeping with the safety of passengers.
Ashish Kumar Dey, convenor of the non-government organisation National Committee for River, Road and Railway Safety, says during Eid in particular, vessels with a capacity of carrying 1000 passengers, carry up till two to two and a half thousand passengers. It is not true that they don't overload.
Chairman of the owner's association says the launches never sink due to the so-called overload of passengers. The launches sink at times if the Master of vessels is not skilled enough to deal with natural disasters, but the Master cannot always be blamed. If BIWTA confuses the Master about the water depth, there is bound to be mistakes. The authorities don't have correct report about dredging.
BIWTA chairman Shamsuzzoha Khandakar says that this time helicopters will be used to monitor whether the ferries are being overloaded with passengers.
In the meantime, the launch owners have said they will not reduce fares during Eid. BIWTA has the authority to determine the fares. In the past the owners and the government authority had reached an understanding through talks and the fares were reduced.
