River Safety Week-2015 began yesterday in Barisal region with a call to ensure safety of river routes. Barisal Port authorities warned seven launches and filed case against one launch for taking overloaded passengers and goods.
Marking the week, department of shipping in collaboration with all stakeholders arranged a discussion at Barisal Bandar Bhavan yesterday morning.
Abul Baser Majumdar, assistant director of Barisal river safety and traffic management department, presided over the meeting. President of Barisal Launch Owner Association Azizul Haque Akkas, chamber president Saidur Rahman Rintu and Sultan Mahmud, leaders of Launch Owners Association,  Ashraf Hossain, senior deputy director (conservancy), and Ekin Ali, leaders of Noujan Sramik Federation Barisal unit, spoke among others.
The participants of the programme said mass awareness and training can play important role to ensure safety on the river routes.
Speakers of the programme alleged that over 1000 trawlers and speedboats carrying passenger plying in 36-river routes illegally in Barisal till today without any registration, fitness certificate, and route permit and without paying tax to the government. At the same time about 300 speedboats are also commercially plying these route in different river side including Barisal DC ghat and Laharhat ghat openly. Cent per cent river vessels are plying without trained masters and drivers in 36 internal river routes in Barisal. The master and driver have no appointment letters. They are doing job as day labour from last 30 years wages from Tk.150 to highest Tk.196 per day, they claimed. They have no bonuses and even no leave facilities, the speakers added.  
The speakers, however, expressed the hope that awareness about river routes safety will be created among all through observing the week.
At the end of the programme the port authorities started special drive at the terminals. During the drive, the officials of BIWTA found the launches plying from the ghat carrying overloaded passengers with goods. The authorities filed case against ML Dhansihiri launch for violating navigation rules and alerted others seven launches for the same.