Renovating launches: But safe travel matters the most
All transport vessels
have a lifetime and the BIWTA must guarantee that these are not used over and
over again
In an attempt to relieve the load of swelling number of passengers, besides increasing the number of roundtrips, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) has refurbished two three-storey passenger launches by enhancing their passenger capacity by 1,500 per launch. It isnt the first time that launches have been renovated and modified with extra passenger carrying capacity and navigation equipments, but whats most important in this regard is to ensure that their performance and safety parameters are properly met before they are launched for serving the public.
Both the vessels are reported to be renovated at a local ship building company sometime in April this year. In case of renovated damaged heavy water bound transports we expect the concerned authorities to have emphasized on their repaired and renewed states of mechanical performance. In Bangladesh, the problem with launch or any water vessel for that matter, just before a major festive season, is that it is often loaded with extra passengers and goods resulting in poor performance and drowning. These two key issues have to be clearly addressed to ensure safe travelling. We opine the same for renovated bus and train services. All transport vessels have a lifetime and the BIWTA must guarantee that these are not used over and over again in the name of refurbished new launch just in order to cope with the increased demand. Ensuring safe journey of passengers is more important than merely carrying them from one destination to the other.
However, it is good that the BIWTA authority is said to have taken extensive measures to ensure safety of home-bound passengers during Eid by including medical teams, fire service , civil defense personnel and divers at river ports from July 1 to 14, but they are actually needed more in active launches than being stationed in ports.
Besides BIWTC, a body of private launch owners has also introduced special services with 19 launches from July 03. This is likely to relieve the extra burden from the shoulders of the state-owned corporation. The fact, however, is that the BIWTC will have to increase its passenger carrying capacity through regular phases by procuring up-to-date passenger carrying vessels in order to depend less on makeshift arrangements. Refurbished or renovated launches or any such vehicle can be substitutes as short-term stopgap measure but they are no solution to the countrys growing number of passengers.
