Thaindian News

Dhaka, Oct 6 (IANS) Bangladesh’s Planning Commission has approved a $1.69 billion mega plan to dredge 53 of its major waterways over the next eight years and has invited investment proposals to implement it.
Rivers around the national capital will get priority in the plan that envisages dredging 237 million cubic meter in 53 waterways, parliament was informed, The Daily Star reported Tuesday.

Work would begin with dredging in the Balu and Turag rivers in the current fiscal year at a cost of $7.6 million.

Silting of riverbeds is a major problem in riverine Bangladesh that has over 300 rivers flowing through it. In most rivers, de-silting has not taken place since the British era.

A recent report by the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority had said that navigability had been reduced from 5,000 km of waterways to 3,600 km due to silting and soil erosion.

Bangladesh shares the Ganga-Jamuna river system with India and the Brahmaputra system with China and India.

“Investors have made proposals to the government that they would take away soil from the river bed through dredging.

“We are working on the proposals considering that if investors are allowed to do so, it will largely help us dredge the rivers,” said Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan.

He said it was not possible to dredge the riverbed of Turag and Buriganga and also the mouth of the two rivers using conventional dredgers as around 10 feet solid layer of polythene has formed there.

“Therefore, the government has planned to purchase a whopper dredger to do the tasks,” the shipping minister said.