Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) under the Shipping Ministry on Saturday launched a circular speedboat service on waterways around the capital city Dhaka.
The service, being introduced under private arrangements, was launched in Gazipur’s Tongi river port.
State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury and State Minister for Youth and Sports Zahid Ahsan Russell jointly inaugurated speedboat services and an Eco-park.
Shipping Secretary Mostafa Kamal, BIWTA Chairman Commodore Golam Sadek and other officials were present during launching ceremony.
The speedboat service has been opened for public on a trial basis with five speedboats on two routes – Tongi-Kodda and Tongi-Ulukhola.
The passengers travelling from Tongi to Kodda
have to pay Tk 150 as fare and those passengers willing to travel to Ulukhola from Tongi have to pay Tk 120 as fare.
It would take 25 and 19 minutes respectively for one-way travel on the routes. Two more routes-Kodda to Gabtoli and Gabtoli to Sadarghat will be launched on the demand of passengers.
“Our existence will be endangered if we fail to protect the country’s rivers. Everybody should keep their own waste management plant active and don’t spoil the environment by throwing garbage in the river,” Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said during his inaugural speech.
. World Ijtema, a religious congregation of Muslims around the world, is held on the banks of Tungi’s Turag. Bangladesh is introduced across the world because of Biswa Ijtema, a religious congregation of Muslims that held on the banks of Tungi’s Turag every year, he said.
“Muslims from all over the world participate in this gathering and pray for the success of the Muslim Ummah, he said adding that “we cannot supply them pure water from the river. So, everyone will be aware and not to throw garbage in the river.”
The State Minister for Shipping further said that 7,000 kilometres waterways out of 10,000 km waterways promised by the Prime Minister have been restored.
If the circular waterways are fully operational the pressure on roads will be reduced as the cost of waterways cheaper than other mood of transportation, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said.
The Tongi eco-park has been established at a cost of Tk 11.66 crore, which started from April 2020 and completed on April 15, 2022.
Project Director Shahnaj Kabir said that they acquired three acres of land to establish the eco-park around the Tongi river port.
“The people of the area could spend their leisure with family members in a aesthetic environment,” he said.
He further said that it would help to protect the river banks from encroachment and contribute to increase revenue for the government exchequer.
About 10,000 trees including fruits and herbal have been planted around the eco-park, he added.
