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Launch masters rely only on wisdom

Demand emergency warning system

RAFIQ HASAN
The masters of passenger launches on various river routes say that the lack of a national emergency warning or weather forecasting system forces them to depend on their wisdom alone during storms or tornadoes.
While the government places danger signals at the terminals during inclement weather, there is otherwise no weather forecasting system to guide launches once they are on their way. "It wholly depends on our wisdom to tackle the situation," said Amir Hossain, master of MV Sundarban, a Patuakhali-bound
passenger vessel.
He said passenger vessels normally anchor at the safe side of a river whenever the operators hear news of dangerous weather over the radio. Otherwise, they have to navigate treacherous tornadoes or stormy weather using bare manual strategy.
According to him the recent launch disaster occurred because of poor performance by the operators and faulty design of the ships. Ashrafuzzmaan, another master of a Perojpur-bound vessel, said launches with one engine are more vulnerable to disaster because they can hardly withstand the wind
pressures during storms or sudden tornadoes.
The M V Moharaj, which sank in the river Buriganga on Saturday night killing 149 passengers, had only one engine. Normally such big vessels have two engines to help them maintain balance during bad weather, the masters said.
Government officials at the Sadarghat Launch Terminal also acknowledged the lack of a weather forecasting or warning system for vessels on river routes. "They become aware by listening to weather forecasts on the radio," said an official requesting not to be named.
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Meanwhile, the number of passengers on the river routes has declined sharply following Saturday night's deadly accident as well as the onset of inclement weather.
Launch operators told The Daily Star that the number of passengers went down by at least 40 per cent from their normal levels. Usually, the number of passenger is lower during the Bengali month of Chaitra and Baishakh because of regular tornadoes and storms in the afternoon and nights, they said.
But the recent launch disaster has aggravated the situation, further compelling passengers to choose other means of travel. "You know, the people have become reluctant to journey by launch as the road communication in the country has developed significantly during recent times," said a launch operator.
"Only five cabins were booked today (Tuesday) out of 75 in my launch," said Rustum Ali of M V Dipraj, a Barisal bound big passenger ship.
He said the total number of passengers in the launch would not exceed 300, although the ship has a capacity for 1,141 passengers.
Many passengers, however, still prefer to travel by river because of the lower costs involved. "The launch fare from Dhaka to Barisal is only Tk 100 per person while it is Tk 250 by bus," said Abdul Khaleque Hawalder, a Barisal-bound passenger. Asked whether he is afraid of disasters like the recent one, Khaleque, an elderly person, only said, "I am not afraid as it
depends on god what will happen in the future."
His relative, Saiful Islam, echoed his view, saying they prefer launch journeys because they are much more comfortable than journeys by road.
Around 100 large and small size launches depart every day from Sadarghat, the prime launch terminal of the country, while a similar number of passenger vessels arrive every day from various areas, mainly the southern region.
During a visit to the terminal yesterday evening, this correspondent found smaller crowds than normal.
The government decision to rid the Sadrghat launch terminal of vendors and hawkers, taken in 2003 after the MV Nasreen-1 disaster, has not implemented, as evidenced by the large number of hawkers found at the terminal.
The BIWTA officials at the terminal said the hawkers flee only when mobile court works at the terminal. Otherwise, they enter into the terminal without restriction.