Avoidable tragedies at ferry points

Yet another bus plunged into the river Padma at the time of getting on board a ferry on Thursday. This follows a similar accident in which 26 passengers lost their lives on March 25 last. There is no casualty this time. But this cannot be called luck. Rather it is the regulatory caution taken just before the accident happened. Although the reports of the two enquiry committees constituted following the March 25 accident have not been published, the river police now follow certain measures at the time of embarking of buses on ferries. They make sure that no passenger stays in a bus at the time of its embarking on a ferry. No plea for staying in a bus is entertained. This strict rule was enforced in case of the passengers of the bus before it fell into the river. The driver and his two helpers also survived the accident with minor injuries.

This is how to learn from mistakes and avoid accidents or casualties. In the March 25 ferry accident, passengers were on board the bus and it plunged headlong into the river with them. It shows that precautions and regulatory measures can make a difference between death and life of passengers. Committees are constituted not only to detect but also to suggest measures against repeat of the accidents in question. Unfortunately, it seems that committees are formed here for delaying the process of justice and punishment. To keep with the tradition, the reports of the committees formed following the earlier accident on 25 have not yet been made public. Whether the river police at both ferry points have taken on their own the initiative of persuading passengers to disembark or instructed so by their higher authorities is not known. But it has saved lives and will do so in the future if the rule is strictly followed.

Again two committees have been formed following the Thursday's bus plunge into the Padma. The important issue here is to know why the bus broke the ramp of the ferry to fall into the river. In his response to the query of a reporter of a contemporary, the driver of the bus narrated that he did his best to stop the bus but could not control it. Here the indication is that either the driver is a novice who might have pressed the clutch instead of the brake or the bus is at fault with its brake not working at the crucial moment. Now that the bus has been salvaged apparently without any major damage, it is not difficult to find if its brake failed.

Whatever may be the case, one thing is clear that mechanical problem and human error are responsible for most of the road accidents and this particular type of mishaps. The problems are systemic and there are remedies for those. If enforcement of one vital rule by the river police can save lives of all the passengers of a bus, implementation of other rules and regulations can as well help curb drastically, if not eliminate, accidents either on roads or on ferries. The anarchy on roads and highways in this country is a result of the administration's failure to streamline the system of traffic management and enforce laws.

Subsequent governments have announced that unfit and date expired vehicles would be withdrawn from roads and be sent to the junk yard. The deadlines were announced but then all governments have backed out of the enforcement of the measures in the face of opposition from vehicle owners and transport workers. Similarly, the issuance of licences is fraught with outrageous irregularities and there are drivers without valid licences. At times helpers replace tired drivers at the steering wheels, inviting accidents.

Not that these are unknown to the authorities but no government has demonstrated the determination required for cleaning the Augean stables. Had the governments not capitulated to the illogical demands of pressure group of vehicle owners and transport workers, road safety would be at a much higher level. There is a need for both a crush programme to eliminate the irregularities and a long-term programme for sustaining the good work in the future. The new government should launch both programmes before it is too late.

nilratanhalder2000@yahoo.com