Tide turns against launch owners at Barisal

Shortage of Dhaka-bound passengers at Barisal port after Eid has left launch owners a frustrated lot.
The special Eid services comprising 11 triple-deck launches and a state-owned steamer have been carrying less than their capacity for the past three nights, sources said yesterday. The BIWTA-managed vessels too have started ferrying passengers without time schedule, further eroding business for launch owners on the Barisal-Dhaka river route, they added.
The sources said the scenario has completely changed from last year, when launch owners were bound to leave Barisal before the scheduled time during Eid holidays.
There was such a rush of passengers till last year that launch owners were forced to switch off their mobile phones to avoid demand for tickets. This time, however, the owners themselves were stationed in front of their vessels, scouting for passengers.
On their part, passengers are very happy with the turn of events.
 “There was no problem of getting tickets this time. Earlier, we were forced to pay a high price for travelling to Dhaka and even assaulted by the people managing the ferries at the terminal,” said Israt Jahan, a house wife who comes to Barisal every year on the occasion of Eid. Israt, however, expressed reservation over the vessels flouting the time schedule.
“Who will be responsible if some mishap occurs due to inclement weather during the night?” she said.
Several vessels, including MV Farhan, were found to be loading Dhaka-bound passengers even at night in complete disregard of the rules. However, the launch owners and managers have blamed laxity on the part of BIWTA officials for this sorry state of affairs.
Miraz Ahmed, manager of MV Dwipraz Launch, said most of the vessels operating on the Barisal-Dhaka river route were violating the system and stipulations by “managing some officials of BIWTA”.
Ahmed said in the past three days, the regular and special vessels were incurring losses during every trip due to shortage of passengers. Even the port authorities are taking illegal benefits by allowing three more launches to ferry passengers from Barisal to Dhaka, he alleged.
At present, as many as 16 vessels are plying on the Barisal-Dhaka river route day and night.
Bangladesh Launch Owners' Association (BLOA) sources said the increase in number of vessels and decrease in passengers has affected the sustainability of their operations. According to the sources, an average of 1,500 passengers per trip is needed to incur minimum profit. But following the increase in vessels and hike in fares, the number of passengers has fallen sharply fall in this river route.
“We have been witnessing an average of 500 passengers per launch during each trip from Barisal to Dhaka,” a source said.
The sources said a Dhaka-Barisal-Dhaka trip costs a minimum of Tk. 5 lakh, including 24 barrels of oil.
They further claimed that that they have invested about Tk 15 to 18 crore for each launch. They added that shortage of passengers have forced 15 vessels to wind up operations. Some of these vessels are MV Sagar, MV Atlast Sun, MV Atlast Star, MV Rajhangsa, MV Nusrat, MV Syef, MV Saharunnesa, MV Syed, MV Joltaranga and MV Jalbihanga.
Others would be forced to follow suit if the authorities failed to take steps in this regard, they added. Port officials, however, said people returning to Dhaka after Eid have rescheduled their holidays, leading to the paucity of passengers.
Md Mustafizur Rahman, port officer of Barisal river port, said that a large section of Eid passengers have extended their holidays till Friday and Saturday and they will join their offices on Sunday. “So the heavy rush of passengers returning to Dhaka after Eid will start from Friday,” he added.

Tide turns against launch owners at Barisal

Shortage of Dhaka-bound passengers at Barisal port after Eid has left launch owners a frustrated lot. The special Eid services comprising 11 triple-deck launches and a state-owned steamer have been carrying less than their capacity for the past three nights, sources said yesterday. The BIWTA-managed vessels too have started ferrying passengers without time schedule, further eroding business for launch owners on the Barisal-Dhaka river route, they added. The sources said the scenario has completely changed from last year, when launch owners were bound to leave Barisal before the scheduled time during Eid holidays. There was such a rush of passengers till last year that launch owners were forced to switch off their mobile phones to avoid demand for tickets. This time, however, the owners themselves were stationed in front of their vessels, scouting for passengers. On their part, passengers are very happy with the turn of events. There was no problem of getting tickets this time. Earlier, we were forced to pay a high price for travelling to Dhaka and even assaulted by the people managing the ferries at the terminal, said Israt Jahan, a house wife who comes to Barisal every year on the occasion of Eid. Israt, however, expressed reservation over the vessels flouting the time schedule. Who will be responsible if some mishap occurs due to inclement weather during the night? she said. Several vessels, including MV Farhan, were found to be loading Dhaka-bound passengers even at night in complete disregard of the rules. However, the launch owners and managers have blamed laxity on the part of BIWTA officials for this sorry state of affairs. Miraz Ahmed, manager of MV Dwipraz Launch, said most of the vessels operating on the Barisal-Dhaka river route were violating the system and stipulations by managing some officials of BIWTA. Ahmed said in the past three days, the regular and special vessels were incurring losses during every trip due to shortage of passengers. Even the port authorities are taking illegal benefits by allowing three more launches to ferry passengers from Barisal to Dhaka, he alleged. At present, as many as 16 vessels are plying on the Barisal-Dhaka river route day and night. Bangladesh Launch Owners Association (BLOA) sources said the increase in number of vessels and decrease in passengers has affected the sustainability of their operations. According to the sources, an average of 1,500 passengers per trip is needed to incur minimum profit. But following the increase in vessels and hike in fares, the number of passengers has fallen sharply fall in this river route. We have been witnessing an average of 500 passengers per launch during each trip from Barisal to Dhaka, a source said. The sources said a Dhaka-Barisal-Dhaka trip costs a minimum of Tk. 5 lakh, including 24 barrels of oil. They further claimed that that they have invested about Tk 15 to 18 crore for each launch. They added that shortage of passengers have forced 15 vessels to wind up operations. Some of these vessels are MV Sagar, MV Atlast Sun, MV Atlast Star, MV Rajhangsa, MV Nusrat, MV Syef, MV Saharunnesa, MV Syed, MV Joltaranga and MV Jalbihanga. Others would be forced to follow suit if the authorities failed to take steps in this regard, they added. Port officials, however, said people returning to Dhaka after Eid have rescheduled their holidays, leading to the paucity of passengers. Md Mustafizur Rahman, port officer of Barisal river port, said that a large section of Eid passengers have extended their holidays till Friday and Saturday and they will join their offices on Sunday. So the heavy rush of passengers returning to Dhaka after Eid will start from Friday, he added.