
Eleven coastal-based organisations submitted Wednesday a memorandum to the Shipping Minister demanding safe watery journeys for coastal people during Eid vacations, reports UNB.
They urged to stop the operation of all launches with faulty designs and ensure pre-registration of all passengers.
They put forward the memorandum from a press conference held at the Jatiya Press Club.
The press conference, titled 'Memorandum of 11 coastal organisations to the Shipping Minister demanding safe waterway journeys during Eid and stopping the operation of launches with faulty designs, ensure the registration of all passengers' was jointly organised by Akash, Arpan, Udayan Bangladesh, Green Belt Trust, Safe water way movement, DOCAP, PULS Bangladesh, SOMAJ, CDP, Safe water way implementation alliance and COAST Trust.
Mustafa Kamal Akanda of COAST Trust moderated the press conference while M Mujibul Haque Munir of the Safe water way implementation alliance presented the keynotes. The other speakers were Aminur Rasul Babul of Safe River Way Movement, Badrul Alam of Bangladesh Krishak Federation and Abdul Kader Hajari of Arpan.
In his keynote presentation, Mujibul Haque Munir said the 8th July is the 'black day' for the river way communications of Bangladesh as a launch, 'MV Nasrin' on the day in 2013 sank on its way to Bhola from Dhaka with homebound people during the Eid vacation.
From a survey of Safe River Way Alliance it was found that about 402 people were killed or missing in only Bhola district due to that accident.
About 128 families lost their only source of earnings, about six children lost almost all of their family members, including the father, mother and siblings.