With launch accidents taking place at regular intervals, most passengers availing water transports from river ports are naturally fearful of travelling, especially during flood season when the rivers are turbulent.

Although around 6 crore people in Bangladesh use waterways as the main means of transport every year, the government's negligence to this sector is putting their lives at a constant risk, said speakers at a meeting organised to observe Safe Waterway Day on Saturday.

An inspection team from the Ministry for Shipping in 2002 started a fitness grading for the vessels and found that 20 passenger launches were 'totally' unfit and vulnerable while 22 others needed immediate repair.

However, the inspection was mysteriously wrapped up after three months leaving the task incomplete.

Every day about 200 motor vessels carry up to 50,000 people from Dhaka's Sadarghat, the largest river port in the country, to different destinations. Many of these launches are unfit to ply.

The speakers blamed the government for not taking necessary steps to lessen the risk of launch accidents. They also said that half of the 2,000 passenger carrier vessels have no licence and are made with faulty design.

"In the last 29 years (1976-2005), 501 launch accidents took place and 70 percent of these launches had faulty design," said Aminur Rasul Babul, national co-ordinator, Nirapad Nouparibahan Bastabayan Jote (NNBJ).

He said there is no allotment in the national budget for 2006-07 to buy launch or steamer for the people of coastal area although there was a budget of Tk 10 crore in the previous year's budget.

NNBJ observes July 8 as Safe Waterway Implementation Day. The date has been fixed commemorating the victims of the fatal accident of MV Nasreen take took place on July 8, 2003 killing more than 400 people.

The speakers at the meeting demanded that the government should take effective measures to ensure safe design and valid licence of the launches as well as carry out regular inspection to lessen the risk of accidents.

They said the law regarding payment of compensation for the victims of launch accidents is ambiguous and the owners take advantage of its vagueness. The law says the victims or their family should be given compensation of Tk 1 lakh. However, the law does mention if this money should be given to each victim or two or more of a same family.

The speakers also alleged the passengers have become hostage to the owners of launches regarding fare as the government has no control on them.

"From 2001, the price of diesel has increased by 190 percent while the fare of launch has been increased by 333 percent. The poor are the worst victims of the unjust raise in launch fare," said Rasul.

The speakers demanded of the government to set up Nou Adalat or river court, to make sure that the launch fare is reasonable. The shipping inspectors should be given executive power to punish the launches collecting unjust and high fare, the observed.