Editorial
Trawler capsizes
Loss of life can be minimised
The trawler carrying over 100 passengers which capsized in the Buriganga on Saturday is the latest in a series of such accidents which occur every year in our country, resulting in hundreds of deaths.
The causes behind such accidents are manifold. The so-called trawlers are often simply country boats with makeshift engines attached to them. Despite a bar on their plying at night, they often do so and without proper equipment such as lighting, gear and buoys. More often than not, they are overloaded with passengers. On the other hand, collisions are also often caused by the reckless manoeuvring of other vessels in the water which are overloaded with cargo such as sand or other heavy material.
Strict measures are necessary to deal with the problem. The fitness of vessels must be standardised and closely monitored, with engines and equipment checked on a regular basis and unfit and illegal vessels banned from plying the waters. A limit must also be put on the number of passengers to be taken on board, depending on the size of the trawlers. Close monitoring is necessary to ensure these and to prevent travel at night and during heavy traffic. Cargo vessels too must be monitored to ensure that they do not carry an overload of cargo and that they are being run by skilled operators.
In a recent seminar on fishing trawler mishaps in the country, it was found that 3,500 people have drowned and 11,000 people have gone missing in some 2,400 trawler capsize incidents in the last 20 years, a number which can be greatly minimised, according to experts. We draw the attention of the authorities to this regularly occurring but sadly neglected issue, urging them to monitor the incidents and address the causes behind such preventable deaths.
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