Staff Reporter :
The movement of vessels on waterways, including those around the city, is being hampered due to construction of low-height bridges over them in different places of the country.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA)has already spent around Tk 200 crore in dredging purposes of city’s four rivers, but unfortunately the waterways around Dhaka are yet to become fully functional due to low-height bridges.
However, Local Government Minister Tajul Islam said that the low-height bridges built on the rivers around Dhaka will be demolished and rebuilt them for smooth navigation.
“The bridges built over the rivers around Dhaka are not suitable for smooth navigation of vessels. These bridges have been identified and instructed to demolish them. The departments concerned will rebuild the bridges so that vessels could ply under the bridges without any obstacle. If the circular waterways could be navigable the traffic on the roads of Dhaka will be reduced,” he said while addressing at the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding for handing over regulatory and drainage outlet structures under the control of Water Development Board to Dhaka South City Corporation at a city hotel on Sunday.
According to sources, different government agencies, such as the local government engineering department (LGED) and the roads department, do not bother to take approval from the BIWTA prior to finalising projects to build such bridges over any river.
Earlier, the BIWTA had identified 14 low bridges between Ashulia and Kanchpur that are major obstacles to the circular waterways. They include the Ashulia Dour Bridge, Kamarpara Bridge, Tongi Bridge, Tongi Railway Bridges I and II, and the Birulia Bridge on the Turag.
On July 27, 2014, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed the authorities concerned to reconstruct or re-install 14 low bridges on the Balu, Turag, Buriganga, Pungli and Bongshi rivers without delay to make viable the circular waterway route around the city.
According to a high official of BIWTA, “It’s stated in the rules that a department concerned has to take permission from the BIWTA to construct any bridge over the rivers. But many departments do not follow the rules properly and come knocking at the BIWTA’s door for permission only after finalisation of their projects.”
Earlier, the BIWTA has implemented two projects under the ‘Circular Waterways Phase-1&2’ spending about Tk 200 crore to make the waterways of city’s four rivers-Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Shitlakhya functional in a view to reduce the pressure of traffic of the capital.
Even, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) had introduced water buses from Gabtali to Sadarghat, which later the services was stopped.
