Bangladesh ferry sinking soars past 100

14 March 2012 Last updated at 12:43 GMT Share this pageEmail Print Share this page

ShareFacebookTwitter.Death toll in Bangladesh ferry sinking soars past 100 Relatives and friends of those who died are now going through the painful task of identifying their loved ones
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
'I've recovered 18 bodies'
Storm sinks ferry in Bangladesh
Bangladesh profile

The number of dead in Tuesday's ferry sinking in Bangladesh has now reached 112, with at least 10 passengers still missing, officials say.

Recovery ships have pulled the ferry close to shore and plan to refloat it.

About 35 people swam to safety after the Shariatpur-1 collided with a small oil tanker in the Meghna River, south-west of the capital, Dhaka.

Ferry accidents are common on Bangladesh's vast river network and scores of people are killed every year.

Officials say more bodies were found after the ship was pulled into shallower waters. More are still thought to be trapped inside.

Hundreds of people, including some desperate relatives, have gathered on the river banks over the last two days during the rescue operation as bodies were extracted.

Laws flouted

"The death toll has now gone up to 112. The ferry has been now been brought to the bank of [the river]. We are continuing with the search operation," Azizul Alam, a senior government official in the district of Munshinganj who is overseeing the rescue operation, told the BBC.

Continue reading the main story
At the scene

Ethirajan Anbarasan

BBC News, Munshinganj

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The rescue operation was extremely distressing.

Practically every time rescue divers returned to the surface they brought with them a dead body, which was then taken to the shore and placed before a grief-stricken and wailing crowd of hundreds that had congregated on the river bank.

It looks as if the sheer scale of this disaster has overwhelmed the authorities.

A crane deployed to lift the stricken vessel out of the river proved not up to the task, and there were then frantic efforts to use boats to tow it from the bottom.

The sense of chaos has been exacerbated by the lack of clarity as to precisely how many people died.

Police say that the final casualty toll could be as many as 200 people. But the true figure is never likely to be known, because the ferry was not carrying an accurate passenger list.

The BBC's Ethirajan Anbarasan - who visited the scene of the disaster - says the river is about 4km (2.5 miles) wide with a strong current. The ferry is believed to have sunk in water about 21m (70ft) deep.

Our correspondent says it is not possible to say exactly how many people were on board, because passenger lists are rarely compiled on Bangladeshi ferries and many buy their tickets when on board.

Survivors say more than 200 people were on the ferry, which was going to Dhaka. Hundreds of relatives and onlookers are still awaiting news of their loved ones.

Some of the survivors said more people than usual were on board the ferry - which was also carrying a large cargo of chillies - because transport services to Dhaka were severely disrupted during an opposition rally in the city on Monday.

The ferry was reportedly travelling from Shariatpur district when the collision happened overnight on Monday.

Most ferry accidents in the country are blamed on poor safety standards and overcrowding.

Shahabuddin Milon, deputy head of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Association, told the BBC's Bengali Service that many cargo boats flout the law banning them from night-time travel, endangering passengers.

Last April, at least 23 people died after a ferry carrying more than 100 passengers capsized in the east of the country.

In June 2010, about a dozen people were killed after a packed ferry capsized in a storm in north-east Bangladesh and in November 2009, 118 people died in two ferry accidents within a week.

Boats are the main form of travel in parts of rural Bangladesh - a country that is criss-crossed by rivers and waterways.

The authorities are repeatedly criticised for failing to honour their pledges to tackle lax safety standards.

Parties agree to remove procedural hitches regarding SRC report

PRAKASH ACHARYA

KATHMANDU: A meeting between Constituent Assembly Chairman Subas Nembang and parliamentary party leaders of three major parties today decided to remove procedural hitches regarding the State Restructuring Commission report and ways to deal with the issues that cannot be endorsed by a simple majority of CA full house.

The SRC report will be at first discussed at CA full house and then will be forwarded to the Constitutional Committee for further processing as per today’s agreement, sources said.

Even other issues that cannot be endorsed at the CA full house through simple majority will be forwarded to the CC to settle them through consensus. The CC is mandated to compile the contents, which are unanimously agreed upon at the CC or are endorsed by the CA full house through simple majority, and prepare the first draft of the new constitution. Since existing CA regulation is silent about how to present the SRC report at CA and what to do in the event of CA full house’s failure to endorse the contents of the new statute through simple majority, today’s agreement will help remove the procedural difficulties. The parties, however, are left with no option but consensus as it is still not clear what will happen if the CC fails to forge consensus on disputed issues. The parties have also agreed on amending the CA regulation to implement today’s agreement.

SRC had submitted its report on federalism about more than a month and a half ago.

Unified CPN-Maoist had been demanding that the report be discussed at CA’s Committee on State Restructuring and Distribution of State Powers while the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML were for discussing it either at the CA full house or at the CC. With parties having different opinions, CA had been unable to deliberate on the report, though it was submitted on January 31.

Though a report prepared by CA’s state restructuring panel had recommended 14 autonomous states, the nine-member Madan Pariyar-led SRC had proposed 10 federal units, along with a non-territorial unit for the Dalits, who do not have their cluster territory to ensure their political representation. However, dissenting minority members of the commission had suggested six federal units, objecting to some other issues.

As per today’s agreement, CA Chairman Nembang will table the SRC report at the CA full house where it will be discussed before it is forwarded to the CC for further processing, said Nepali Congress Chief Whip Laxman Ghimire.

Source:- http://thehimalayantimes.com

Hydropower conference kicks off in Capital

KATHMANDU, MAR 14 -

A conference on Hydropower with the slogan 'Electricity for Economic Development' kicked off here in the Capital on Wednesday.

Inaugurating the two-day conference in the Capita today, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai said the nation can be economically stable only if energy crisis is solved.

Saying that energy is required for the right utilisation of natural resources, modernisation in agriculture, tourism development, running big industries, among other activities, Prime Minister Bhattarai underscored the need for hydropower projects in the country.

Mentioning that the problems that have been seen in new hydropower projects are negligible, PM Bhattarai said it could be resolved if the government gets support from all the sectors.

On the occasion, Energy Minister Posta Bahadur Bogati stressed that government and private orgasiations from Nepal and India should move ahead in unity to reduce the power crisis in the country.

The two-day conference is schedule to hold discussion on possibilities of hydropower projects in Nepal, investment policy in new hydropower projects, investment security, possibility of hydropower business between two countries, among others, organisers confirmed.

Source:- www.ekantipur.com