Editorial
Tragedy on the Kirtonkhola
Some stern measures are now in order
The tragedy which occurred on the river Kirtonkhola on Thursday is only one more instance of the callous indifference shown by people in charge to passenger safety concerning movement of river vessels. The story, as tragic as all others of its kind in the past, is simple: one vessel, in this case a cargo-carrying one, rammed into a launch that was, as usual, overloaded with passengers. There are a couple of questions that immediately arise in the aftermath of the accident. Firstly, why was an individual other than the captain of the cargo vessel allowed to operate the vessel? Secondly, despite all the rules and regulations periodically spouted out by the authorities about the number of passengers river vessels can carry, why are there no efforts at all to see such measures through?
The shame about the Kirtonkhola tragedy is that no one knows precisely how many people were on board the launch ML Fahmida Happy Express when it was rammed by the sand-laden vessel MV Sanim. The launch is expected to carry no more than ninety five passengers. One can be quite sure that the number far exceeded that. Worse, there are a very large number of the bodies of those who perished in the accident yet to be recovered. As for MV Sanim, those in charge of it have been taken into custody. The question now, though, is whether full and appropriate legal measures will be initiated to ensure that those responsible for the accident face justice. And then of course comes the matter of overloaded vessels. The first question here relates to those whose job it is to ensure, round the clock, that all river vessels comply with rules before setting out on their journeys. Oddly enough, when the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority itself laments the absence of skilled crew on the vessels, an absence of hydraulic steering systems, flaws in design, et cetera, one realises clearly the huge vacuum that prevails between the law and its application. Everyone appears to have a hands-off attitude where river transport is the issue; and the relevant authorities only sit up every time some more people die when their vessels sink into the river. The chairman of a three-member inquiry committee into the accident has informed us that the documents relating to the two colliding vessels have been examined. Should such an exercise not have been gone through beforehand?
Let a purposeful inquiry be made; and let the families of those who have perished be compensated adequately. And let there be a complete overhaul of the administrative structure regarding an assurance of travel security on the rivers.
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