The need to keep the rivers navigable
Thursday, 16 October 2008
Ferdous Ahmed
RIVER transport, by far, provides the cheapest transportation of goods in bulk in Bangladesh. A very large number of people still travel long distances using this mode. But little has been done to keep the rivers navigable despite the economic importance of river routes.
Siltation, which intensifies in the winter, chokes the rivers. Every year, silt in massive quantities, brought down by the rivers, raise the river beds, consequently, rivers get shallow and shoals surface on the channels. In the wet season the river, unable to carry the excess water, overflow, inundating vast tracts of land. Can the siltation problem be tackled with regular and extensive dredging? Dredging of the rivers has been minimal in recent years. As siltation continues, the navigational problem has worsened over the years.
The river routes in the country have shrunk by nearly 30 per cent in the last decade. According to estimates, some 55.2 million square meters of silt are deposited annually in the rivers. Can dredging keep the riverways reasonably navigable amid such heavy siltation? The annual dredging capacity of the entire dredging fleet in the country is about 8.7 million square meters only. The existing dredger fleet can meet only about 15 per cent of the total dredging requirement. Even the entire capacity cannot be employed at a time because not all the dredgers remain operational round the year as they frequently need repairs. The annual budget for dredging operations has been scanty. Besides, the dredging activities do not prove useful in many cases because of corruption and poor dredging quality.
The experts say that about 24 thousand kilometres of the riverway are heavily silted. Siltation is rapidly engulfing the remaining river routes. The challenge to maintain the navigability of the riverways is obvious. Practical steps are needed to keep the rivers navigable.
RIVER transport, by far, provides the cheapest transportation of goods in bulk in Bangladesh. A very large number of people still travel long distances using this mode. But little has been done to keep the rivers navigable despite the economic importance of river routes.
Siltation, which intensifies in the winter, chokes the rivers. Every year, silt in massive quantities, brought down by the rivers, raise the river beds, consequently, rivers get shallow and shoals surface on the channels. In the wet season the river, unable to carry the excess water, overflow, inundating vast tracts of land. Can the siltation problem be tackled with regular and extensive dredging? Dredging of the rivers has been minimal in recent years. As siltation continues, the navigational problem has worsened over the years.
The river routes in the country have shrunk by nearly 30 per cent in the last decade. According to estimates, some 55.2 million square meters of silt are deposited annually in the rivers. Can dredging keep the riverways reasonably navigable amid such heavy siltation? The annual dredging capacity of the entire dredging fleet in the country is about 8.7 million square meters only. The existing dredger fleet can meet only about 15 per cent of the total dredging requirement. Even the entire capacity cannot be employed at a time because not all the dredgers remain operational round the year as they frequently need repairs. The annual budget for dredging operations has been scanty. Besides, the dredging activities do not prove useful in many cases because of corruption and poor dredging quality.
The experts say that about 24 thousand kilometres of the riverway are heavily silted. Siltation is rapidly engulfing the remaining river routes. The challenge to maintain the navigability of the riverways is obvious. Practical steps are needed to keep the rivers navigable.