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to shortage of manpower.

The government's General Shipping Statistics show that 2,089 passenger-carrier water vessels were registered and only 693 completed their annual fitness survey till 2007.

The deadline for registration of old vessels has already expired and they have become rundown too

Unfit and unregistered vehicles are mainly responsible for frequent launch capsizes in the country's river routes. On the day of Eid-ul-Azha. an overloaded launch with homebound people overturned in Bhola leaving 85 passengers dead.

During a spot visit it was found that some launches declared unfit by an inspection team formed by the shipping ministry are plying without facing any obstruction from the authorities concerned.

In the organogram of the DoS it is clearly mentioned that it must have 53 officials and workers to oversee its activities while the current number is only 28.

Five stations -- Dhaka, Narayanganj, Barisal. Chittagong and Khulna- issue and renew registration and fitness licence of the river transports. As per the rules each station should be under the direct supervision of a permanent naval architect or marine engineer. But a permanent official runs only one of those five stations.

Of the remaining four, Chief Engineer of the Department of Shipping AKM Fakrul Islam has taken the charge of Narayanganj station while two ship surveyors of mercantile marine department and an official of Bangladesh shipping corporation have been appointed temporarily.

Former president Hossain Muhammad Ershad during his tenure made a law that allowed the launches or trawlers of 16 horsepower to ply without registration because they travel between short distances.

Taking the advantage of the law a group of crooked businessmen in connivance with some

corrupt officials of BIWTA and the department of shipping are now plying both heavy vessels and 16 horsepower launches in the long route without registration resulting in technical glitch for which the passengers eventually suffer.

BIWTA and department of shipping sources said some dishonest and influential launch owners have set 16 horsepower engine in heavy launches, which are more than 30 feet long and plying on the long routes.

Another survey of Journalists Forum for Communication and Environment (JFCE) reveals that on average 22 accidents occur every year on different river routes across the country leaving around 300 peopledead a year.

The unregistered and unfit vessels are causing tragic accidents leaving hundreds of people dead and incurring a loss of at least Tk 40 crores per year on average, said the study.

Ashis Kumar Dey, general secretary of JFCE. said most of the unregistered launches are-plying on the local routes in the

southern part of the country and registration and fitness certificates of most of them from Dhaka to southern part of the country have already expired.

But the launch owners have no headache to get them renewed as they manage the government officials through illegal means.

Talking to The Daily Star Chief Engineer of Department of Shipping AKM Fakrul Islam said all the launches moving through long routes are registered. "But some small ones running on the local routes are still unregistered.” he added.

“We have already issued letters to different district administrations to draft a list of unregistered mechanised boats. After examination we will give registrations to them," he said.

Replying to a question on manpower crisis in the department of shipping he said the recruitment procedures of some officials are on the cards. The Public Service Commission (PSC) will complete the recruitment process.