Speedboats unregulated for decade
Right under the authorities noses, unskilled drivers have been operating unregistered speedboats on the Padma s Shimulia-Bangla Bazar route for over a decade.
The issue has come into the limelight after one such motorboat crashed into a sand-laden bulk carrier near Bangla Bazar Ferry Ghat in Madaripur s Shibchar upazila on Monday morning, leaving 26 passengers, including women and children, dead.
Sources in the Shimulia Ferry Terminal in Munshiganj said around 400 speedboats are operated on the route, flouting the safety rules.
Only a few of them have registrations while the rest are operating illegally, said an official of the Department of Shipping (DoS), a government body authorised to regulate the country s water transports.