Dhaka, March 6 -- River transports will not be allowed to charge any fares above the fixed rate during Eid trips, says M Sakhawat Hussain, the interim government shipping advisor.

"Each launch will have four Ansar personnel on board to ensure the passengers' security," he added.

Sakhawat spoke to the media at a briefing on Thursday following a meeting with stakeholders regarding the security on river routes during the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.

"The operators will not charge anything extra on top of the fixed fare. The amount they're charging now isn't the real fare. They're not charging the amount fixed by the authorities but even lower. This is because they are seeing very few passengers now."

"They will hang the fare chart from the 15th...