Experts at a webinar on Saturday urged the government to prepare a master plan for ensuring sustainable river and canal dredging and their management in a bid to accelerate further economic advancement of the riverine country.

They also said the number of rivers in Bangladesh is declining due to siltation and fall in streamflow affecting waterways that are the cheapest means of transportation.

Under the circumstances, the experts called upon the government to make an adequate allocation for river dreading and proper river training.

Also read: Capital dredging project: First phase set to miss deadline

Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) arranged the webinar titled ‘Sustainable River Dredging: Challenges and Way Forward'.

Water expert and Brac University Professor Emeritus Ainun Nishat presented the keynote paper at the programme while State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury joined it as the chief guest.

Dr Nishat said there are two types of dredging like maintenance dredging and capital dredging. “A master plan should be prepared for river and canal dredging in Bangladesh.”

He said dredging should be done in a sustainable manner so that the economy can be benefited as rivers not only carry water but also carry lives. “For an efficient river management, special emphasis must be put on maintenance dredging.”

Stating that the private sector can play a major role in dredging operation, the water expert said also underscored the importance of investments in dredging and de-siltation works. “Private dredging operators must be trained on sustainability issues. PPP can be a useful model for river dredging, sand extraction, land recovery, land accretion and land reclamation.”

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Dr Nishat said the current practice of dredging operations, both capital and maintenance, need to be evaluated urgently. “Rules and guidelines for sand dredging from river beds should be updated and followed strictly.”

He suggested establishing a river training institute to create skilled manpower for river management.

Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) Executive Director Abu Saleh Khan said the total river basin system should be analysed in an efficient manner. “Dredgers are now ultramodern and highly efficient but they need proper training for skill development and capacity building.”

He also focused on sustainable dredging and long-term strategic planning in the maritime sector. “For sustainable dredging, dredgers have to have the idea on soil condition, river system, stream nature and ecological system. There should have been a post-dredging evaluation system in the policy.”

State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said the government has been working sincerely to ensure effective river management as per its delta plan. “We’ve a plan to make 10,000 km inland river ways navigable.”

He said the capacity of Mongla Port has now increased manifolds, easing the pressure on Chittagong port. “We’ve limitations and challenges but we must have to manage our rivers through efficient dredging as these’re our natural assets.”

The junior minister said the government has been working on sustainable river dredging both in the form of capital dredging and maintenance dredging and 35 more dredgers will be procured soon.”

As per the delta plan, he said, the government is firmly committed to developing the riverine system in the country.  “We invited the private sector to come forward with more investments, even in the PPP format, to materialize the delta plan.” 

DCCI President Rizwan Rahman said waterways play a diverse role in the economy of Bangladesh as it is a riverine country.

“It’s a high time to improve the waterways for the sake of both industrial and socioeconomic development of the country as Bangladesh is poised to become a developing country by 2026. The 24,000 km of waterways come down to 6,000 km in monsoon and 3,600 km during the lean period due to dynamic characteristics of the rivers and its effect falls into the economic and ecological state of the country,” he observed.

He said navigable waterways have manifold positive cascading effects on the economy as it saves container movement time and ensures comparatively cheaper goods transportation system. “Navigable and well-managed waterways help ease cross-border trade growth with the neighbouring states. But lack of maintenance, weakening upstream flow and human interventions are some of the common problems for declining navigable waterways.”