NCPSRR demands standard testing of 11 new BIWTA dredgers

National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways (NCPSRR) on Friday demanded testing the standard of 11 dredgers recently procured by Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) to dredge rivers.
The committee also stressed the need for reforming the tender evaluation technical committee of the Shipping Ministry's projects to ensure transparency in importing dredgers in the future, spending public money and the activities of the BIWTA.
Addressing a press conference at Mukti Bhaban in the capital, NCPSRR adviser and water expert Engineer M Inamul Huq said the government's steps to develop the country's shipping sector are positive and commendable, but question of transparency raises when 11 dredgers were imported by a single entity.
Reading out a written statement, NCPSRR general secretary Ashish Kumar Dey placed a six-point demand at the press conference, a news agency report said.
The demands include formation of a high level committee involving experts from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) and Chittagong Academy to assess the quality of the 11 dredgers and bringing all water vessels and dredgers of the BIWTA under registration.
-SS