Chittagong Bureau :
The toll collections in 7 ghats of Karnaphuli river remain stopped for the last two years due to capital dredging in the Karnaphuli channel. As a result City Corporation is deprived of revenue for about Tk.1.50 cr in last two years due to stopping of ghat operations. These ghats are – Chaktai ghat, fishery ghat, Avoymitra ghat, Sadarghat, Panghat, Gaizerghat, labonghat, and new ghat north adjacentof fishery ghat.
Corporation sources said Chittagong Port authority had requested the city corporation to stop the leasing these ghats on February 26, 2012 for reasons of capital dredging in the port channel.
As requested by CPA, city corporation suspended the lease process of these ghat from August 2012. But expiry of the capital dredging work, CPA yet to handed over these ghats to City corporation as a result CCC lost revenue of Tk.1.50 cr for these period.
Despite request of the city corporation , CPA did not hand over these ghat mentioning reasons of incomplete dredge work it is impossible to do so.
Chief Revenue officer of CCC told this reporter that toll money from these ghat are incurred in city civic facility work but now CCC is depriving of Tk.70 lakh minimum per yr due non-release of ghats as yet.
A port sources said the dredging work was given to a Malaysian company for dredging but the tenderer now disappeared after completing 50 percent work leaving the uncertainty of the dredging work.
