BIWTA's missing forests for trees
Seizes 30 unregistered cargo vessels, exempts passenger launches
Staff Correspondent
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has started fresh block raids on the Buriganga and Shitalakhya rivers to apprehend unregistered cargo vessels while passenger vessels, exempting from the block raids, are plying as usual although three consecutive ferry disasters recently claimed around 300 lives.Six teams of law enforcers led by magistrates using two speedboats and a launch, working under the Marine Court, apprehended around 30 sand carrying vessels in Sadarghat, Narayanganj and Fatullah areas yesterday. "The cargo vessels sometimes create disturbance to the passenger vessels that has led us to conduct the block raid," said Abdur Rahim Bhuiyan, a magistrate of the court. "We started conducting blocks raid last year and since then nearly 10,000 cargo vessels have completed their registration but 7,000 have still remained unregistered," Rahim added. The mobile court held several sukanis (master) and helpers of cargo vessels yesterday. "I was apprehended earlier also. But the owner of the vessel managed to release me just paying them some fine," said a staff of an apprehended vessel requesting anonymity. Every apprehended vessel will be fined Tk 20,000 to 30,000, BIWTA sources said, adding that the authorities have collected nearly Tk 9 lakh as fine. Some one lakh motorised water transports ply on the rivers across the country, most of them do not have registrations and licenses, shipping directorate officials said, adding that the authorities will expand their operations in other parts of the country soon.
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