Chandpur: Adviser to the shipping, labour and employment ministries Brigadier General (retd.) Dr M Sakhawat Hossain today distributed Tk 30 lakh among the families of six deceased crew members of MV Al-Bakhera. The crew members were killed in the cargo ship MV Al-Bakhera in the Meghna River near Hayemchar upazila in Chandpur district on December 23 last year.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the adviser handed over cheques for Tk 30 lakh to six families. Each family received a cheque for Tk 500,000, with Tk 2 lakh provided by Bangladesh Labour Welfare Foundation under the Ministry of Labour and Employment and Tk 3 lakh from Noapara Group, a fertilizer importing company. The adviser collected the donation from Noapara Group on his own initiative.
During the cheque distribution, Dr M Sakhawat Hossain described the incident involving the six crew members on the fertilizer-carrying cargo ship as very unfortunate. He expressed his sympathy to the families of the deceased and noted that the money was donated on humanitarian grounds.
Furthermore, the adviser instructed the relevant authorities within his ministries to offer suitable employment opportunities to the family members of the deceased, following necessary training.
The deceased crew members were identified as Sajibul Islam and Md Majidul Islam from Mohammadpur Upazila of Magura district, Md Salauddin Miah and Aminur Munshi from Lohagara upazila in Narail, and Sheikh Sabuj and Md Kibria from Faridpur Sadar.
The event was chaired by labour and employment secretary AHM Shafiquzzaman, with senior secretary of the shipping ministry Mohammed Yousuf attending as a special guest, along with senior officials from both ministries.