Culpability has vanished in Bangladesh

It is a question of values. We seem to have lost most of it over the past few decades. About forty years ago, there was a railway accident in one of the States of south India. Many died. Late Lal Bahadur Shastri, the former Prime Minister of India was then a member of the Indian Cabinet in charge of Communications and Transport. The Minister rose to the occasion. He not only expressed his condolence for the bereaved families but also resigned from his post. He took responsibility for the disaster. He did not have to, but that is democratic behaviour at its best. As Minister, he did not hide behind the blaming of officials or seek absolution by referring to scanty resources. He was man enough to stand up and be counted. Unfortunately, such precedent is totally lost on our Minister for Shipping. It is irrelevant for him if hundreds continue to die in launch disasters every year. It is explained away to the vagaries of 'Kal Boishakhi', overcrowding and faulty construction.

In the last few months, we have witnessed once again several disasters. Sudden storms have led to sinking of trawlers and launches and death of hundreds of people. It was the same last year and this year does not look different.

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I was listening to an interview on the TV with one of those responsible for salvaging the MV Raipura which sank in the Jamuna River near Arichaghat in Manikganj with more than 200 passengers. It was very revealing. The specialist pointed out that the decades-old salvage vessel MV Rustam maintained by the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) was having difficulty in lifting the sunken vessel because of the gross weight of MV Raipura. The rescue wire had snapped more than once. Apparently, MV Raipura is too heavy for MV Rustam. The TV reporter also mentioned that inland vessels are now touching up to four to five hundred tonnes -- significantly above MV Rustam's capacity.

Another thing has also become clear during the latest salvage efforts and rescue operations. By now, our rescue teams should have been able to gain sufficient experience and expertise to carry out their operations like clock-work. Instead we have seen delay, confusion, lack of coordination and absence of suitable equipment. Divers have been unable to reach depths of twenty metres and blamed this on a strong under-tow. How can this happen?

Over the last three years, several disasters have starkly highlighted, time and again, the inadequacies in our ability to rescue passengers and retrieve corpses from rivers. This is difficult to understand given the fact that millions travel in deltaic Bangladesh, in vessels, on river routes, at any given time, on any day. It is also the backbone for our commerce.

Consequently, it was disturbing to find out that specialist salvage vessels with sufficient (moderate) capacity are still not available in our country. Paucity of such salvage vessels were also underlined in the failure of the concerned Authorities in being able to arrange rescue of those who had been affected by the sunken trawler which went down near Bhola in the Meghna River near Char Maheshkhali. Such a situation is entirely unacceptable.

It is time that the government understood that the Ministry of Shipping, like many other government Departments, is in shambles. Repeatedly, they have proven their inefficiency and have shown very little in the discharge of their responsibilities. To each disaster there appears to be a ritualistic response. Investigation Committees are set up, but findings or suggestions of such Committees are never made public. Their reports are not even openly discussed within the Parliament. We have also not seen any move to compel launch operators to adequately compensate the families of the deceased. I believe that such compensation of at least Taka five lakh per victim should be made mandatory if the sunken vessel is found to have had design defects which led to its capsizing in the river. Similarly, other severe penalties, including imprisonment should be applied against owners of vessels and their Captains, if it is found after inquiry, that the vessel was carrying more passengers or cargo than it was permitted under licence. There should also be regular monitoring and checking of safety conditions on board these vessels, including the presence of a sufficient number of life jackets. Absence of stipulated facilities should immediately lead to suspension of the licence of the vessel in question.

Our Ministry of Shipping, like RAJUK, continues to shirk its responsibilities on the plea that they are under-staffed with regard to Inspectors, and that there is very little coordination between the relevant agencies and available river police and law and order agencies in different embarkation and disembarkation points on the river. This is not an acceptable excuse. It is an example of lack of proper governance.

The general public today are dissatisfied with the way things are being run in this sector. Mere lip-service will not do. I consider that such tragedies occur as a consequence of continuing callousness on the part of the responsible officials and the extraordinary greed of the owners of the vessels (who have no hesitation in permitting over-loading and excess cargo during voyages). Added to this is the corruption during the monitoring stage, when such vessels are being constructed in Bangladesh. In many cases, technical fitness certificates are provided without sufficient care and examination.

Last year, concerned officials of the Ministry, after a series of mishaps, assured the general public that over-loading of passengers as well as breach of rules would be severely dealt with. The problem with such promises is that it is made with the fore-knowledge that there will be no accountability for any failure.

I can understand the fact that it might be difficult to stop over-crowding. What I do not understand is why, if this cannot be stopped, authorities can not at least ensure adequate provision of life-saving devices for small children and elderly people when they board such crowded river-crafts. There should be no difficulty in that.

We have seen only inadequate and inappropriate response until now, from government agencies responsible for monitoring river traffic. It is time punishment, in terms of departmental action, is meted out. A few dismissals and suspensions might persuade others to be more conscientious in their performance.

Without further delay, the government should also add and update the salvage and rescue fleet-not two as proposed but more. If resources are limited, then buy one aircraft less for Bangladesh Biman. These vessels also need to be powerful enough to be able to salvage launches of up to five hundred tonnes. South Korea is a leader in this field. Let us ask them or the European Union to assist us in this regard. We must make our river transport system secure as a strategic option.

Similarly, the Administration needs to update and streamline the existing technical aspects of the storm warning system. A recent report in this paper has already highlighted the serious difficulties that are being created because of this. It was also disappointing to find out that, despite technical advances, different systems are still being used to assess the severity of possible storms in seaports and river-ports. Such lack of coordination creates ambiguities and confusion. How can this continue in this day and age? Reform in this sector might require a lengthy technical scrutiny. It might take time. Nevertheless, let us start.

Efficiency and accountability need to be ensured within all the Agencies associated with the Ministry of Shipping. The Cabinet may also consider setting up a Special Sub-Committee to monitor developments in this sector headed by the Prime Minister. The first step could however be the handing over of this portfolio to another member of the Cabinet, or to a technocrat, who has been associated for a long time with this form of transport.

Muhammad Zamir is a former Secretary and Ambassador -- any response to mzami@dhaka.net