A perilous 50km in river

Sajjadur Rahman, a businessman from Barisal, is a regular passenger of the Dhaka-Barisal water route. Over the last few months, he has been feeling uncomfortable to take the route following media reports of increased accidents.

“I know that the Dhaka–Barisal water route is becoming increasingly dangerous day by day. But I still take it, because it is still less dangerous than the highway,” he said.

But the Dhaka-Barisal river route has recently become more dangerous as accidents have increased, said passengers and water vehicles drivers.

According to reports from the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) eight accidents occurred on the route in the last two months, although no death was reported.

The frequency of the accidents has increased due to unauthorised plying of sand-laden cargo vessels by unskilled drivers on the route defying bans, said Md Azmol Huda, deputy director (route) of BIWTA.  

Denying the allegations, Nurul Alom, a trawler driver of Beltola area said although they have no certificate for driving the cargo vessels but they have gained enough expertise through years of work on river routes.

The area is always busy with all kinds of water vehicles including sand boats, alleged Md Jahangir Hossain, the master (driver) of Parabat Launch. To minimise the accidents, he said, signal lights should be increased and cargo vessels restricted.

Moreover, dense fog and hidden islands have caused more accidents in the 50km stretch from Bhansanchar area to Barisal Launch Ghat, another BIWTA official said.

The situation is such that a fatal accident can happen anytime as dense fog and lack of adequate signal light cannot trace hidden islands by our radar, Jahangir added.

Most accidents occur due to lack of modern facilities in the sand-laden cargo vessels, which ply the river defying all bans from the authorities, launch drivers alleged.

BIWTA authorities have taken initiative to minimise the risk, said Md Azmol Huda, adding that they had planted signal lights in the area.

“I have informed the higher authorities in this regard to take actions against the unauthorised drivers and their vehicles,” said the BIWTA official.

Contacted, the BIWTA Deputy Director Rafiqul Islam said, “We have installed 120 signal marks and 40 lights to make the route safe from Basanchar area in Barisal to Kowhali in Pirojpur.”

The water transport authority has barred sand-laden cargo vessels from plying the route from sunset to sunrise. However, this ban has not been followed by the drivers, he said, adding that a set of guidelines for regulating unauthorised water vehicles is waiting for approval at the shipping ministry.

“Once we get our approval, we can take strict actions against those who defying bans and plying the water route illegally,” he said.

Contacted, Md Motaleb Hossain, additional superintendent of police of Naval Police Unit under Barisal Zone, said they are working with BIWTA to keep the river route safe and free from the clutches of unauthorised water vehicles.