Experts suggest revival of 23 rivers thru\\\' capital dredging

The consultants engaged in pilot capital dredging have recommended that twenty-three rivers be revived to its full capacity on priority basis, officials said.
The costs for the work have been estimated at Tk 9000 billion. If the money is available dredging would start, they added.
For more than a year dredging activities remain halted as the government was waiting for data about capital dredging of the rivers.
The rivers include Buriganga, Teesta, Matamuhuri, Dhaleshwari, Shitalakhya, Pangsa, Modhumoti and Ichamoti.
Though the data are yet to be made public, an official in the water development board said these have been prepared for submission to the government for taking measures in massive dredging.
Moazzem Hossain, project director of the pilot capital dredging in the river Jamuna said, "We will submit the data to the government soon and when we get money and necessary orders we will start dredging soon."
In the capital dredging new canals are created, lands reclaimed, embankments enhanced and water transferred from one place to another.
For the last one year dredging activities are halted except for few cases which is increasing the height of river beds and silts are being deposited alarmingly.
The official said the complete data would be available within a week.
In the pilot capital dredging project, the data analysis firms are Demas, Devcon, EPC, Bets, IWM, CEGIS and others.
The consultancy firms were appointed by the government so that they would give a guideline to the government for capital dredging across the country to revive the rivers.
Capital dredging covers all the necessary works including creating new channels, removing silts, widening rivers, etc.
Protective embankments and river trainings are also included in the capital dredging.
An expert in the WDB said due to a halt in dredging for a long time all the rivers in the country are under threat.
The official said the rivers are in danger and if the capital dredging is not conducted the situation would turn worse.
Several water experts in the Water Development Board said already some rivers like Teesta are almost dead and capital dredging is now urgently needed.