Launch owners’ demand illogical: Shipping ministry

The government termed launch owners’ proposal to double the fare due to fuel price hike unreasonable.

In response to the owners’ demand the Ministry of Shipping has formed a committee to adjust the fare reasonably.

A gazette notification will be issued based on the evaluation and discussion of the committee, said Shipping Secretary Md Mostafa Kamal.

The secretary made the remark after holding a meeting with the launch owners at the Shipping Ministry on Monday.

He also said the current fare would remain effective until the new fare was announced through the notification on August 10.

The owners told the meeting that they were incurring financial loss since the opening of the Padma Bridge. Besides, passengers suffer as the road from Gulistan to Sadarghat is always jam-packed.

The secretary told them that they had already contacted the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges requesting them to improve waterways communication.

On Sunday launch owners sent a proposal to the government to increase fare by 100 per cent though the price of diesel was hiked by 42.5 per cent.

In the letter to the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), apart from the fuel price hike, they also cited price hike of some other components as the reason for higher fare demand.

The current launch fare is Tk2.19 a km for maximum 100-km distance and for destinations more than a hundred kilometres launch fare is Tk2.00 a km.

The owners said they wanted the fare to be Tk4.60 per km within a hundred-km distance and Tk4.00 for more than 100-km distance.

“After the price of USD increased in the global market, the price of lubricant has increased by 50 per cent. Besides, the prices of propellers, spare parts, welding rods and gas spray have also increased,” Bangladesh Inland Waterways Passenger Carriers Association President Mahbub Uddin Ahmed said.

He claimed that they were demanding more hike compared to the bus owners as the two sectors couldn’t be compared as operation cost is much higher for a launch. On Friday night, the government increased fuel prices amid the volatility in the global market. Diesel and kerosene retail prices were fixed at Tk114 per litre, octane at Tk135 a litre and petrol at Tk130 per litre.

Following the fuel price hike on Saturday night the government increased long-haul bus fares by 22 per cent from Tk1.8 per km to Tk2.2 while the bus fares in Dhaka and Chattogram metropolitans were increased by 16.27 per cent from Tk2.15 per km to Tk2.5.