Due to the increase in the price of fuel, the working committee has proposed eight steps to increase the launch fare.
The committee has proposed to the government to increase the rent by 19, 22, 25, 30, 35, 40, 42 and 50 percent. A proposal will be approved out of this.
Public relations officer of the Ministry of Shipping on Monday (August 8) night. Jahangir Alam Khan gave this information.
As Ashura is a holiday on Tuesday (August 9), a decision can be taken on Wednesday (August 10) regarding the rescheduling of the launch fare after considering the committee’s proposal, said this official of the Ministry of Shipping.
Earlier in the afternoon , a ‘meeting was held at the secretariat to adjust the fare of boats in view of the increase in the price of fuel oil ‘. State Minister of Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury is on a foreign trip, the secretary of the ministry said. Mostafa Kamal presided over the meeting which was attended by the launch owner and other related department officials.
In the meeting, a working committee headed by SM Ferdous Alam, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Shipping, was formed to consider the increase in the price of fuel oil . The committee also includes representatives of launch owners and other related departments. The committee made this proposal after doing calculations and negotiating with the owners from noon to night.
The Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources in a press release on ‘fuel oil price adjustments and its impact on the transport sector’ has suggested that the launch fare may increase by 42 paise due to the increase in fuel oil prices.
When asked whether the proposal of the Energy Department is being taken into consideration in determining the fare, the Navy Secretary told reporters in the afternoon that we are proceeding with that guideline as the basic basis. There may be a difference of 5-10 percent from that. We will try to stay within that guideline.
At present, the fare for the first 100 km is Tk 2.30 paise per person per kilometer and for the distance beyond the first 100 km the fare is Tk 2 per person per km. The launch owners have offered to increase the rent by 100% due to the increase in the price of fuel oil .
However, the Naval Secretary said that there is a need to increase or revise the fare, but this proposal seems a little too much to us.
Earlier, the government increased the prices of diesel, petrol, kerosene, and octane from 12:00 pm last Friday (August 5).
This increases the price of diesel by 34 taka, kerosene by 34 taka, octane by 46 taka and petrol by 44 taka. As a result, diesel has to be bought at Tk 114 per liter, kerosene at Tk 114, octane at Tk 135 and petrol at Tk 130.
