Shipping Adviser Brigadier General (retd) Dr M Sakhawat Hossain on Friday said the government will provide Taka 1.5 lakh each to the families of the persons who died in a launch accident at Chandpur on Friday.
Families of each injured person will get Taka 50,000, he said while talking to reporters after inspecting the damaged launches at Sadarghat in Dhaka.
“Today’s incident was a sad one. Among all the types of transport, the river route is the safest, yet any accident might happen,” he said.
He shared his personal experience in water route journeys, saying, “I myself travel by waterway, and I have also noticed that many vessels don’t use lights while operating in the dark at night.”
An eight-member committee has been formed by the ministry to probe into the incident, and the authorities concerned were asked to arrest those responsible for the launch accident, he said.
The shipping adviser said the real cause behind the incident could be known after investigation.
The adviser said several instructions have already been given. “No launch will operate in fog at night, and lights must be used if parked anywhere at night. Bulkheads will not operate before 8:00 am this season, and those who violate the instructions will be arrested.”
In the future, he said, if any launch drivers do not operate the launch properly or do not use lights at night or do not follow the instructions, their route permits and licences will be cancelled.
Four people were killed in a collision between two passenger launches—Zakir Samrat-3 and Adventure-9—amid dense fog on the Meghna River in the Harina area of Chandpur Sadar.
The deceased were identified as Abdul Gani, 38; Md Saju, 45; Md Hanif, 60; and Mosa Rina, 35. All of them hail from Bhola district.
