Dhaka, May 30 -- But passenger fares will remain unchanged, Golam Sadek, the chairman of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority or BIWTA, said after a meeting with the launch owners on Friday.

The government has decided to lift the ban on public transit system, allowing operators to carry a limited number of passengers from May 31, the day offices will reopen on a limited scale.

Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, the state minister for shipping, had said previously in a video message that the authorities were looking forward to resume launch services reducing the number of passengers by almost half.

"We have discussed how we can resume services maintaining the health safety guidelines. No decision has been made on passenger fare," Sadek sai...