CHANDPUR: Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan yesterday said the government is intensifying its efforts for collecting 20 dredgers to carry out capital dredging in the rivers to revive the lost waterways by returning navigability, reports BSS.

“We lost nearly 20,000km out of the 24,000km waterways....However, the government has successfully restored nearly 14,000km as it has implemented various projects at a cost of Taka 11,000 crore in its previous tenure,” he told a function of digging work in the district, an official release said yesterday. Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Shipping Ministry Major (retd) Rafiqul Islam, Bir Uttam, among others, addressed the function with BIWTA Chairman Commodore M Mozammel Haque in the chair.

Shajahan said the improvement of waterways by dredging will have a favourable impact on the economy of the country as it will ensure better transportation and irrigation facilities. There are 14 dredgers in the country. “More dredgers are needed to carry out dredging to remove navigability problems in the country,” Shajahan added.