The government has finalised a draft policy on river dredging and the management of dredged materials to bring the sector under a discipline so that none of the departments can dump spoil dredged from rivers in a scattered manner. Besides, some local influential people are always involved in quarrels. In the past, they have even threatened, insulted or physically assaulted officers of the department concerned over the establishment of supremacy centred on dredged materials. The government wants this policy to help stop such illegal practices.

Some officials of the shipping and water resources ministries, who are involved in formulating the policy, disclosed this while talking to The Independent.

Under the draft policy, the departments concerned would have to deposit dredged materials about 300 metres away from the riverbanks.

The local administrations would not be able to allow unplanned sand extraction from rivers without proper alignment with the appropriate authority.

Bangladesh’s rivers carry about two billion tonnes of sediment from the upstream during the monsoon each year, causing a rise in the country’s riverbeds.

Under the dredging and dredged materials policy, silts of rivers, canals, ponds, ‘haors’ and ‘baors’ will be removed through planned dredging, maintaining coordination among the departments and ministries concerned in order to enhance the navigability, including increasing the capacity of water-bodies to contain water across the country.

At least 22 departments under various ministries are involved in dredging-related works.

The policy is expected not only to increase the navigability of the rivers, but also help reclaim the river-eroded lands and protect the environmental balance and aquatic lives.

Besides, vast areas will be protected from floods after dredging in in a coordinated manner, the officials said.

“Riverbanks will be protected from erosion as dredged materials will be used to construct river embankments. Besides, the fertility of agricultural lands will be increased. The farmers could use the waters for irrigation. Fish production will also be increased,” Rakibul Islam Talukder, additional chief engineer of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), told The Independent.

He said the main objective behind the formulation of the policy is to ensure the proper implementation of dredging works in a coordinated manner among the departments concerned and proper management of the dredged materials. A national dredging

committee will look after the dredging activities under the policy, he said, adding, “All the departments concerned would have to conduct their dredging works as per the directives of the policy. But the national dredging committee will give directions from time to time.”

The dredging works in rivers or canals must be implemented while keeping the river morphology unchanged, Talukder said, adding that the department concerned would have to see that the aquatic ecosystem is not affected during dredging works. “The dredging projects will be taken up only after proper coordinated studies, considering technical, social, economic, environmental, ecological and other aspects,” he said. According to the BIWTA official, the dredging work will be implemented in two ways: capital and maintenance.

“The local administrations have given permission indiscriminately to extract sands from rivers, which have seriously affected the river’s morphology and caused river erosion. Under the policy, the local administrations will have to take proper alignment with the departments concerned before giving such permissions to extract sand,” Talukder said.

Under the policy, none of the departments can conduct dredging works that hamper the drainage system. Also, the deposited dredged materials should be managed in a manner parallel to the dredging works.