Govt to demolish bridges blocking water vessels, says minister

The government will demolish bridges that hamper movement of water vessels on the rivers surrounding Dhaka city, said Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Minister Md Tajul Islam on Sunday in the capital.

"We will build new bridges by demolishing the existing ones on the rivers that surround the capital for ensuring easy movement of water vessels," he also said while presiding over master plan committee meeting on ensuring navigability, preventing pollution and halting encroachment of river banks around the capital at the conference room of the ministry.

He shared that different ministries and departments including city development authority RAJUK (Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha) have taken several projects for ensuring navigability, stopping encroachment of river banks and checking pollution of rivers around the city.

The minister added that that a committee will be formed to see if there was any overlapping among the projects taken by different government bodies.

Tajul Islam mentioned that there is no alternative to ensuring coordination among the government agencies.

"We will bring all the projects taken by the government ministries and departments under the master plan," he declared.

The minister stated the government had so far regained 90 per cent encroached lands of the river banks of the capital.

He further stated that the Covid-19 pandemic has forced the government to go slow towards it's drives to get back the remaining encroached river banks.

Mr Islam pointed out that the government had taken a project to ensure inter connectivity of the cannels in the capital.

Replying to a question, he informed that the government started preparing the 10-year long master plan.

State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, Mayor of Narayanganj City Corporation Selina Hayat Ivy, Mayor of Gazipur City Corporation Jahangir Alam, senior secretaries, secretaries and high officials of different ministries and departments were present at the event.

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