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Pinak-6 Sinking

Activists hold four safety officials responsible

Staff Correspondent
Two non-government organisations yesterday said the "utter" negligence of four designated officials in ensuring safe voyage of Pinak-6 passenger vessel in the turbulent Padma river led to its sinking on Monday, in which over a hundred passengers died presumably.
The four were supposed to oversee launch operations and ensure their safety on hazardous Mawa-Kawrakandi route, said Ashish Kumar Dey, convener of the National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways (NCPSRR).
He said the officials included a shipping department surveyor, who was withdrawn from duty following the sinking of another launch, Shathil, in Patuakhali in May.
He was addressing a press conference at the capital's Mukti Bhaban. NCPSRR and Bangladesh Passenger Rights Protection Council organised it demanding dismissal of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) chairman and all the four officials.
Pinak-6 was carrying around 200 passengers, far beyond its capacity of 85. Till yesterday, 46 bodies were recovered.
In a written statement,
Ashish said Mohiuddin Ahmed, assistant director, and Jahangir Hossain Bhuiyan, traffic inspector, of BIWTA, and Md Muinuddin Julfikar, surveyor, and Shafiq Aiyub, inspector, of the Department of Shipping (DOS), showed wanton negligence.
Contacted, BIWTA's Mohiuddin said, "I am not responsible for ensuring safe voyage, marine safety. It was traffic inspector Jahangir Hossain."
BIWTA Chairman Samsuddoha Khandaker told The Daily Star on Monday that no marine safety and traffic inspector of BIWTA was present, when the vessel departed Kawrakandi.
DOS Chief Inspector Shafiqur Rahman said though it was the duty of Shafiq Aiyub to oversee vessel safety both at Dhaka and Mawa ports, Aiyub was at Dhaka considering priority.
DOS's Muinuddin was not available for response.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Abdur Rahim, a former naval architecture professor at Buet, said hundreds of committees had been formed to investigate sinking of launches but none was meant for finding the real cause. Those were for mere eyewash, he said.
A Supreme Court lawyer, Sadia Arman, said the Pinak-6 disaster manifested absolutely the organisational failure of BIWTA and DOS.