The Bangladesh Shipping Workers Federation has declared to stage a sit-in protest in front of the BIWTA office from 11 am on May 23, 2021, if no passenger shipping is announced by May 22.
President of Bangladesh Shipping Workers Federation Md. Shah Alam Bhuiyan and General Secretary Chowdhury Ashiqul Alam, in a joint statement, said that due to the passenger launches being shut down in the name of lockdown for more than a month and a half, their families were living in dire financial straits. Millions of day laborers are being forced to work as river laborers in river ports.
The leaders said that the lockdown is not effective anywhere in the country at present and hygiene protocols are not being followed anywhere.
Communication system and public transport is in operation all over the country at higher cost leaving the passengers in extreme misery. Prior to this, more than half a crore people left the capital against restrictions, to reach their families after suffering extreme hardships and bearing a higher cost.
They said that it is not clear to them as to why passenger launches and long-distance public transport have been shut down, even after tragic incidents such as the deaths of people trampled by passengers on ferries. They hoped that the government would reverse its decision to stop passenger launches and long-distance public transport after witnessing the plight of returning passengers.
However, the leaders and their companions believe that the announcement of shutting down long-distance public transport for one week has disappointed the entire country.
They further shared that once again, poor passengers returning to work at the expense of extreme suffering and extra money have started returning to their workplaces. In the current reality of the whole country, lockdown is not effective anywhere. Therefore, they said, considering the plight of unpaid shipping workers for the past three months, they have repeatedly called on the government to lift the ban on passenger launches at low cost and safe return to work for the poor in the south.
Despite drawing attention, the government is yet to act upon it. Hence, the leaders once again urge the government to announce the launch of passenger vessels by May 22. They hope that the government, considering the plight of the workers and passengers, will respond to our reasonable demands and rescue the stranded workers by announcing the resumption of passenger shipping by May 22.
Finally, the leaders said that if this reasonable demand of the workers is not accepted, then the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) will start a sit-in protest in front of the office on May 23 to demand the launch of passenger launches.
