& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Strike continues on waterways

Minister, launch owners blame each other for no solution

Pankaj Karmakar
While the countrywide indefinite strike by the water transport workers enters its third day today, the authorities concerned blamed one another for not taking necessary measures to end the crisis.
The work stoppage has put thousands of passengers in difficulty as they had to suffer cuts in service.
Bangladesh Noujan Sramik Federation (BNSF), a platform of six organisations of inland water transport workers, enforced the strike on Wednesday to press home their 16-point demand including increase in wages.
The government has convened a meeting today at the office of Bangladesh Inland Water TYansport Authority (BIWTA) at 3:00pm to end the crisis. Transport workers, launch owners and government officials are expected to join the meeting.
The meeting could not be convened in the last two days due to lack of coordination between the shipping and the labour and employment ministries. Both the ministries referred to one another for taking the initiative.
Contacted, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan said, "We are very much concerned about the strike. We have sympathy for the workers, but the launch owners are
unwilling to increase their [workers'] wages right now."
Asked about the demands of the workers, State Minister for Labour and Employment Begum Monnujan Sufian said if the launch owners do not hike the wages, the government cannot do anything as it has no fund for the sector.
However, the launch owners blamed the government for not acting promptly to end the strike.
A vessel owner, seeking anonymity, accused the government of being indifferent to the problem.
Talking to The Daily Star, BNSF General Secretary Chowdhury Ashiqul Alam said it is the responsibility of both the government and the launch owners to consider and fulfil the workers' demands.
Meanwhile, the water transport workers yesterday brought out a pro-cession from Banglabazar in Old Dhaka and paraded different streets. They demonstrated in front of the Directorate of Labour in the capital's Motijheel.
Their other demands include ensuring workers' security on waterways, maintaining navigability
of rivers, proper fitness certification of all vessels, and immediate disposal of cases pending with the marine court.
PASSENGERS SUFFER The indefinite work abstention by the workers disrupted countrywide river communications, causing immense sufferings to passengers.
Around 55 launches were scheduled to leave Dhaka for the Southwestern districts on 36 routes, but only 10 left until 7:00pm, Saiful Haque, senior deputy director of BIWTA, told The Daily Star.
Visiting the Sadarghat launch terminal yesterday noon, this correspondent saw thousands of passengers waiting for vessels for hours. Some passengers, who bought advance tickets, were seen returning their tickets.
In the evening, furniture in a cabin of MV Suressor-1 was gutted. But the reason of the fire incident could not be known.
Our Chittagong correspondent reports: Twelve mother vessels with imported commodities remained stranded at the outer anchorage of Chittagong port yesterday as there was no load-
ing and unloading of goods.
Mostafa Kamal Hayat, senior vice-president of Shipping Agents Association, said if any vessel overstays at the outer anchorage, it would have to bear a loss of $10,000-$15,000.
Contacted, Commodore Mahbub Rashid, executive director of Water Transport Cell (WTC), told The Daily Star that 40 lighter vessels laden with 53,720 tonnes of goods like wheat, clinkers, lentil, gypsum were staying idle in 16 private and CPA (Chittagong Port Authority) ghats.
Besides, 364 lighter vessels with 3,88,351 tonnes of urea and TSP fertilisers, sugar and other essential commodities remained stranded in other parts of the country due to the strike, he added.
In Barisal yesterday, BIWTA rocket steamers PS Ostrich and PS Lepcha plied their routes with huge number of passengers, reports our correspondent.
Taking undue advantage of the situation, engine boats and trawlers charged passengers higher fares on different river routes in the southern region.