Bhairab-Katiadi-Tok-Mymensingh-Jamalpur river route

Dredging halts due to red tape

The Bhairab-Katiadi-Tok-Mymensingh-Jamalpur river route, a component of the 24 important waterway dredging projects, has been suspended due to a bureaucratic tangle. It would not be possible to complete the work by September 14 this year as per the project plan due to the suspension of work, sources said.

The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) is supposed to bring the 293-km-long river route, which is one of the India-Bangladesh (inland water transit and trade) protocol routes, under the capital dredging project to keep it navigable round the year.

An officer of the BIWTA told this correspondent that the project had been approved by the ECNEC in 2012 to keep this route navigable from Bhairab to Jamalpur via Mymensingh. But the dredging work, a priority project of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has been suspended from January 24 this year, as the local administration is yet to demarcate the dredging areas despite repeated reminders.

According to BIWTA sources, the project work was being seriously hampered due to non-cooperation of the Narsingdi district administration.

Some ministry officials have also raised questions about the authority of a deputy commissioner to review the project plan that had been passed in 2012 at an ECNEC meeting chaired by the prime minister.

The deputy commissioner (DC) of Narsingdi district, Sayeda Farhana Kawnine sent letters after reviewing the DPP (development project profile), approved by the ECNEC in a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister in 2012, to the Water Development Board (WDB), land ministry and BIWTA and commissioner of Dhaka on April 11, suggesting

an inter-ministerial meeting regarding the project. In her letter, the DC stated that the BIWTA had not taken any approval from the land ministry and had not even consulted the WDB, National River Protection Commission, and the  water resources ministry regarding the project. She further stated that the authorities concerned had not followed the directives of the High Court as per Writ Petition No 3503/09 to demarcate the actual demarcation line of the river despite consulting the CEGIS and IWM.

When asked, the DC responsible to demarcate river areas, Sayeda Farhana Kawnine said: “Yes, we are responsible to demarcate the areas. We have already instructed the Belabo upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) to demarcate the dredging areas of the river.”

The problem on a portion of the river route—from Belabo to Katiadi—which had overlapped, as both the WDB and the BIWTA awarded projects to different entities for dredging the same stretch, has, however, been solved. The WDB has awarded the 30.5-km-long Arial Khan dredging work to the Bangladesh Army, while the BIWTA is dredging a 20-km-long part of the Arial Khan–Old Brahmaputra route as part of the capital dredging project.

An inter-ministerial meeting has decided that the BIWTA will dredge the overlapped portion in the Arial Khan part under Belabo upazila in Narsingdi district, BIWTA additional chief engineer Saidur Rahman told The Independent. “Vessels can’t move from the Arial Khan to the Old Brahmaputra as farmers are now cultivating paddy on the river route. The project has been taken up to keep this route navigable from Bhairab to Jamalpur via Mymensingh,” he said.

The depth of the river would be kept at 18–20 feet and width at 120 feet so that 12-feet draft cargo vessels could move along the river without any hitch, he said. “The objective of the project won’t be fulfilled if the dredging is not continued on the Belabo part,” said Rahman.

Asked why the BIWTA needs to dredge this particular stretch, Rahman said: “The design of the WDB is different. Our intended dredging depth is 18–20 feet, but it is 10 feet for the WDB. So, vessels won’t be able to move along the river route if our design is not implemented.” Passenger launches and vessels would be able to ply smoothly from Dhaka to Jamalpur via Bhairab–Mymensingh once the project work is complete, he said in reply to a query.

Also, passenger and goods-laden vessels can be easily loaded or unloaded and berthed round the year on completion of the work, he added.

Bhairab-Katiadi-Tok-Mymensingh-Jamalpur river route

Dredging halts due to red tape

The Bhairab-Katiadi-Tok-Mymensingh-Jamalpur river route, a component of the 24 important waterway dredging projects, has been suspended due to a bureaucratic tangle. It would not be possible to complete the work by September 14 this year as per the project plan due to the suspension of work, sources said. The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) is supposed to bring the 293-km-long river route, which is one of the India-Bangladesh (inland water transit and trade) protocol routes, under the capital dredging project to keep it navigable round the year. An officer of the BIWTA told this correspondent that the project had been approved by the ECNEC in 2012 to keep this route navigable from Bhairab to Jamalpur via Mymensingh. But the dredging work, a priority project of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has been suspended from January 24 this year, as the local administration is yet to demarcate the dredging areas despite repeated reminders. According to BIWTA sources, the project work was being seriously hampered due to non-cooperation of the Narsingdi district administration. Some ministry officials have also raised questions about the authority of a deputy commissioner to review the project plan that had been passed in 2012 at an ECNEC meeting chaired by the prime minister. The deputy commissioner (DC) of Narsingdi district, Sayeda Farhana Kawnine sent letters after reviewing the DPP (development project profile), approved by the ECNEC in a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister in 2012, to the Water Development Board (WDB), land ministry and BIWTA and commissioner of Dhaka on April 11, suggesting an inter-ministerial meeting regarding the project. In her letter, the DC stated that the BIWTA had not taken any approval from the land ministry and had not even consulted the WDB, National River Protection Commission, and the water resources ministry regarding the project. She further stated that the authorities concerned had not followed the directives of the High Court as per Writ Petition No 3503/09 to demarcate the actual demarcation line of the river despite consulting the CEGIS and IWM. When asked, the DC responsible to demarcate river areas, Sayeda Farhana Kawnine said: Yes, we are responsible to demarcate the areas. We have already instructed the Belabo upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) to demarcate the dredging areas of the river. The problem on a portion of the river routefrom Belabo to Katiadiwhich had overlapped, as both the WDB and the BIWTA awarded projects to different entities for dredging the same stretch, has, however, been solved. The WDB has awarded the 30.5-km-long Arial Khan dredging work to the Bangladesh Army, while the BIWTA is dredging a 20-km-long part of the Arial KhanOld Brahmaputra route as part of the capital dredging project. An inter-ministerial meeting has decided that the BIWTA will dredge the overlapped portion in the Arial Khan part under Belabo upazila in Narsingdi district, BIWTA additional chief engineer Saidur Rahman told The Independent. Vessels cant move from the Arial Khan to the Old Brahmaputra as farmers are now cultivating paddy on the river route. The project has been taken up to keep this route navigable from Bhairab to Jamalpur via Mymensingh, he said. The depth of the river would be kept at 1820 feet and width at 120 feet so that 12-feet draft cargo vessels could move along the river without any hitch, he said. The objective of the project wont be fulfilled if the dredging is not continued on the Belabo part, said Rahman. Asked why the BIWTA needs to dredge this particular stretch, Rahman said: The design of the WDB is different. Our intended dredging depth is 1820 feet, but it is 10 feet for the WDB. So, vessels wont be able to move along the river route if our design is not implemented. Passenger launches and vessels would be able to ply smoothly from Dhaka to Jamalpur via BhairabMymensingh once the project work is complete, he said in reply to a query. Also, passenger and goods-laden vessels can be easily loaded or unloaded and berthed round the year on completion of the work, he added.