Editorial
Neglected ferry services
An infrastructure deficit that should be met
Passenger traffic and operators of lorries with cargo on the Dhaka-Aricha highway set to use ferries at Paturia-Daulatdia to cross the Padma are hard done by. Given the volumes of passenger and goods on this route 14 ferries are required. As against this pressing need, only eight ferries are said to be operating, that too virtually on paper. Since the conditions of these ferries are deplorable one or the other would be found out of order at any given time. In fact some of them have outlived their utility thanks to poor maintenance or sloppy repair work.
The deplorable outcome of such ill-run and mismanaged ferry services is for all to see and quietly endure. On both sides of the Padma, thousands of goods-laden trucks and passengers remain stranded causing not only hardship but also economic losses. The cost of delay is simply incalculable.
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) is in charge of this important ferry network connecting the south-western districts of the country with the capital and then onward to the east. This remains a potentially vital communications link despite the Jamuna bridge as increasing number of goods and passenger carriers have to still use the route. So, if operated efficiently, it could inject a whole lot more dynamism into the economy.
Unfortunately, however, it is alleged to be a corrupt sector where BIWTC officials and those of shipyards make hay on the repair work. They buy cheaper parts and make inflated bills in the name of repair work. The glaring example is provided in the case of repairing Shahjalal, a wide-bodied ferry boat. It was first mended at a cost of Tk four crore two years back but it went kaput soon thereafter with the BIWTC sending it to Narayanganj dockyard for fresh mending. This cost Tk 60 lakh, only to be moved to Mawa terminal. On the day following its anchoring at Mawa it broke down again. Other ferry boats under repair and now approaching completion may have been tainted with allegations of corruption of some sort or the other, if investigated. It seems that a vested interest is at work in the repair business!
The point we would like to drive home is: shouldn't the allegations of corruption be gone into and the responsible held to account to put a system in place for efficient repair and maintenance works?
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