Editorial
Tragedy on Buriganga
River traffic management conspicuous by its absence
We are shocked at the loss of lives of passengers of an ill-fated launch when it sank in River Buriganga on Thursday. The tragic incident took place when the Munshiganj-bound launch was hit from behind by a fully loaded cargo vessel in broad daylight. The sudden impact had caught the passengers unaware, as a result of which many got trapped inside the cabins and the bottom deck. Only the lucky ones could swim to shore and safety. This is perhaps the first time that a passenger vessel sank for no fault of its own.
How the cargo vessel could ply so recklessly in a busy and narrowing river like Buriganga is an indictment on the river traffic management authorities. They have failed in keeping traffic movement under control, checking vessel fitness, and ensuring that the drivers were qualified enough to stand behind the wheels. We find no reason why a filled-to-the-brim cargo vessel should violate all regulations in an area where hundreds of vessels enter and leave every now and then.
It may be mentioned here that most of the 8000km long river routes of the country are unsafe for plying of passenger vessels. But, despite all the lurking hazards, about 6 crore people take the river routes for long distance travelling every year. One of the statistics says that in the last ten years, a total of about 5000 people have died in accidents taking place in rivers. And the death toll in Buriganga is 330 since 2000.
As is the usual practice, the authorities have already formed a 5-member probe committee headed by a joint secretary of the shipping ministry. We do not know how deep the probe committee will go in search of the actual guilty persons. But the sheer avoidability of the accident and the magnitude of the loss of lives should prompt them to dig deep into the tragedy. We would like the probe report to be made public and punishment meted out to the responsible.
We strongly believe it is time to take some worthwhile action. There has to be strict traffic management together with auto-reactive rescue operations in the event of an accident to save lives.
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