Deaths on Meghna

The latest tragedy to hit the troubled inland waterways is the sinking of Miraj-4 passenger ferry with some 200 people on board. This is not the first launch to go down in Meghna River nor is it likely to be the last given the inexorable lack of preventive actions.
It has been disconcerting to see the lacklustre pace of rescue operations being carried out by authorities. But then, going by newspaper reports, rescue operations are apparently being hampered due to underwater trenches created by dredging. Whatever may be the case, progress is woefully slow and the fact that although BIWTA has the capacity to recover vessels weighing up to 250 tonnes, and Miraj-4 weighs a lot less than that, we are left with the impression that coordination between the different agencies involved in the salvage exercise has been sorely lacking.
Unless authorities are serious about tackling the issues of overloading passenger launches and allowing unfit vessels to ply the inland water routes, accidents like this will continue to happen. Indeed, the list of problems facing the inland river passenger transport sector ranges from flawed design, incompetence of vessel operators to overloading. It really falls upon the authorities to do their job properly when it comes to fitness checking of both vessel and competence of those responsible for navigating these craft. Handing out a cheque to the bereaved families of those lost in the depths of rivers like Meghna is little consolation, especially when most of these accidents could be avoided.