The stoppage of the launches during the Norwester hours for two months was a sound decision of the government. It is the responsibility of the government to give protection to the passengers from the very unsafe death traps called launches that ply on our rivers. These launches are inherently unstable and easily capsize with the first sign of a storm. Passenger accommodation are provided with very narrow door

that makes escape of most passengers from the compartment impossible, during emergency. Besides these launches have either very little or no life saving appliances like life buoys, life jacket or life raft i.e. total disregard to the safety of passenger. I have not heard any launch owner ever been punished for not keeping life saving appliance on board as required under relevant statute.

Without ensuring basic

stability of these launches, water tight engine room compartment, water tight cargo hold during transit and adequate life saving appliances on board no launch should be allowed to ply. If the launch owners wanted to continue their strike their route permits should have been cancelled. That way the government would not have pushed the passengers to the perils of the Norwesters and could not possibly be charged with negligence on the part of the government. Today there is no part in the country where people cannot go by road. With the strike on the passenger launches the passengers would only have been inconvenienced but now they have been pushed before almost certain death. This surely is the failure of the government in fulfilling its basic obligation to provide safe passage to passenger travelling in the river routes.

Salahuddin Ahmad

Dhanmondi, Dhaka