Eid trips: Poor sales of advance launch tickets frustrate operators

The launch owners of Sadarghat terminal are disappointed to see a dip in sales of advance launch tickets ahead of Eid, which they attributed to home-goers' preference for travelling by train or bus.

"We have yet to see any demand for advance launch tickets like the previous years. Maybe people are more interested in travelling by road than waterways," Saidur Rahman Rintu, the vice president of Bangladesh Inland Waterways (Passenger Carrier) Association (BIWPCA), told The Business Standard (TBS).

Despite the poor sales of advance tickets, the launch operators are still hopeful that they might see some passenger rush on 20-21 April.

The National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways on 11 April reported that though the number of passengers heading to the greater Barishal region has reduced due to the Padma Bridge, the Sadarghat launch terminal will face unusual pressure of homebound people during this Eid, likely to be celebrated on 21 or 22 April.

Around 30 lakh people from Dhaka and surrounding districts will leave the capital for coastal districts on waterways in a period of nine days ahead of Eid. Among them, at least 27 lakh will go through the Sadarghat launch terminal with an average of three lakh people daily, according to the committee report.

BIWPCA Vice President Saidur Rahman Rintu said, "We are still hoping that passenger rush may take place on 20-21 April. Hence, we will keep the vessels ready to deal with the pressure."

Launch owners, however, will not bring out any new vessels or renovate old ones as they used to do in the previous Eids.

Rintu said, "Amid low demand for launch tickets this year, we will not bring out new vessels or renovated existing ones to attract passengers. We will run the service as usual with the existing vessels."

The launch business, offering water transport services from Dhaka to different southern routes of the country, started to decline after the opening of the Padma Bridge. But launch owners blamed the authorities' apathy for the dull business condition.

According to water transport operators, the main reason for the decline in demand for launch services is the intense gridlock on the Gulistan-Sadarghat road, pushing many travellers away from launches to other modes of transport.

Shahidul Islam Bhuiyan, general secretary of the Launch Owners Association, told TBS that the launch owners have long been urging the government to take immediate steps to reduce the perennial traffic congestion on this road.

"In every meeting with the authorities, we urged to make the Gulistan-Sadarghat road commuter-friendly, removing illegal shops and stalls. But no improvement has been made so far. The launch business of Sadarghat will suffer an even greater blow if the road condition does not improve," he said.

"Our business is already in decline. Earlier, 60-80 launches used to leave Dhaka daily on 12 routes in the southern region, but now only 30-35 launches are operating on these routes due to a lack of passengers," Shahidul Islam Bhuiyan added.