Ghashiakhali dredging unlikely to end by 2015

Jubair Hasan | Published: December 18, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

The authorities made little progress in dredging the Mongla-Ghashiakhali channel as only seven per cent work could be completed even in four years since inception of the key project, officials said.
The Shela River, where the cargo vessel-oil tanker collision took place resulting in spillage of huge furnace oil, was not used as a transit route before.
The Mongla-Ghashiakhali channel outside the Sundarbans turned unfit for shipping nearly four years back because of excessive silt deposits in the Kumarkhali River.
Due to closure of the channel, shipping between India and Bangladesh had been taking place through a 90-km channel inside the Sundarbans, threatening its biodiversity, they said.
In the absence of any alternative riverine routes, the government found it difficult to put a permanent restriction on movement of commercial vessels through rivers in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) Chairman Shamsuddoha Khandaker said.
He said the channel remained unused for more than three years because of excessive volume of silt deposited in the Kumarkhali River and the BIWTA was engaged to dredge the channel for making it fix for shipping.
"We've removed 0.68 million cubic metres of silt from the channel over the last five months. Five dredgers are engaged to make it suitable for shipping again," he said.
The BIWTA chairman said the deadline for the project had now been extended to June, 2015 from December, 2014.
The BIWTA undertook the 22-km long Mongla-Ghasiakhali River channel dredging project involving around Tk 2.50 billion, a priority project of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, for removing 10.0 million cubic metres of silt four years ago.
The step was taken after a lapse of 40 years.
The project comprises three components. The BIWTA has been assigned to remove 3.0 million cubic metres of silt under the first component while the remaining two components of the project will be implemented by two private companies to be appointed through international tender.
Seeking anonymity, a BIWTA engineer said two international companies - Malaysia-based Seiko and China Harbour Engineering Co. Ltd - had participated in the tender process to remove the silt in the channel at a cost of Tk. 9.3 million and Tk. 8.8 million respectively.
He said the Chinese company's proposal was sent to the Shipping Ministry on October 19 for approval of the Cabinet Committee on Purchase while the Malaysian company's proposal would be sent to the committee sometime in the current month.
"So, it will take time as the tender formalities are yet to be completed. It will be very tough to complete the task by 2015," he said, adding that it would be very tough to complete the task by 2015 as tender formalities were yet to be completed," he added.
Movement of vessels through the Shela River has, however, been halted temporarily following the collision.
When contacted, Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan said they sat in a meeting over the issue Wednesday and already sent a letter to the Cabinet Committee on Government's Purchase requesting it for immediate approval so that the ministry could implement it by June, 2015.
"The project is very much important for the country as closure of the channel has forced shippers to ply through the Shela River," he said, adding that many cargo vessels remained idle for days at the Mongla Port because of the suspension of vessel movements.
When contacted, Divisional Commissioner of Khulna Md Abdus Samad said the Prime Minister instructed him for monitoring dredging activities in the channel.
"I personally visited the spot to oversee the dredging work a month ago and found the progress in project implementation slow. I also urged the BIWTA authorities to further accelerate the work," he said.
Immediately after the collision that caused oil spill, experts and environment activists raised their strong voice demanding closure of the 'unofficial transit route' for the sake of biodiversity of the world's largest mangrove forest.
Talking to the FE, Mongla Port Chairman Commodore Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan said the port activities had severely been affected because of the suspension as more than a hundred cargo vessels with fertilisers and foodgrains remained anchored there.
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