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Say sorry, we'll call off strike

Launch owners tell govt

Staff Correspondent
Launch owners agreed yesterday to withdraw their strike if the government openly admitted that its decision to punish some launches for violation of rules was not right.
At the meeting with the government, the launch owners claimed that the launches had valid papers and were yet fined last week. They requested the shipping secretary to check it out at the Sadarghat launch
terminal.
The launch owners said the government would have to say sorry in the presence of mediamen if the papers were found valid. But when asked to comment on the matter, Shipping Minister Akbar Hossain said there was no need for the government to say sorry to the launch owners.
"Rather, the magistrate will check all the launches to find out whether they have the necessary
papers," he added. "It's up to them to decide whether they will withdraw the strike."
Gias Uddin Mamun, senior vicepresident of the Bangladesh Inland Waterways (passenger carriers) Association, said, "The shipping minister has undermined our position before the whole nation by saying that we have been running the business without valid papers. But this is not true. So the authorities
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concerned have to say sorry in the presence of the mediamen if it is found that the launches have valid papers."
"We have asked them to check our vessels but our condition is that they have to say sorry if the papers are found to be all right," he added.
The meeting was held at the office of the shipping secretary and continued for more than two hours.
Shipping Secretary Zulfikar Hayat Chowdhury and other high officials will visit the Sadarghat terminal today morning, the launch owners association sources said.
The president of the association, M Kalimulla, said the launch owners will not be able to install the safety devices by 2005 as per the instruction of the shipping ministry.
"We have told the secretary that we are not in position install those devices on our vessels and the secretary agreed with us on that
point also, " said Kalimullah.
The strike began last Tuesday, a day after eight launches were fined by a mobile court for not having the necessary papers. The association had also demanded removal of the magistrate.
However, the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation yesterday introduced a bus service from Sadarghat terminal on the Dhaka-Barisal route.
Taimur Alam Khandakar, chairman of the BRTC, inaugurated the service comprising 10 buses.
He told The Daily Star that the service would continue until the launch strike is withdrawn.
The fare of the special bus was fixed at Tk 150.