Like many other government projects, river dredging in Bangladesh is utterly neglected, though the country needs rigorous river training and efficient river dredging to improve its waterways to boost industrial and socio-economic development. Yearlong functioning of the river routes will help transportation of goods and passengers at cheaper rates, significantly reducing the pressure on roads and highways across the country. For this, a long-term strategic planning is needed while private and foreign investment should be encouraged with more fiscal and policy incentives, say experts.
Dredging is considered the only solution to bring navigability to rivers. These water bodies have for long been termed a happy hunting ground for those involved in grabbing of riverbanks to the misery of millions. Water experts have said this at a discussion titled “Sustainable River Dredging: Challenges and Way Forward”. Ainun Nishat, Professor Emeritus at the Centre for Climate Change and Environment Research under BRAC University, in a keynote paper emphasised on a master plan for sustainable river and canal dredging in the country so that the economy can benefit from it. Saving the rivers through smooth passage of water is not just important for the economy but also for biodiversity because ‘rivers not only carry water but also life’.
Stating that the private sector can play a major role in dredging operations, the experts called for investments in dredging and desilting work. The government alone cannot do this; investment from the private sector is needed. To create skilled manpower in the sector, they called for establishing a river training institute to train private dredging operators in a bid to sustain the dredged riverbeds. They noted that public private partnership (PPP) could be a useful model for river dredging, sand extraction, land recovery, land accretion and land reclamation. Bangladesh also needs to update the rules and guidelines for dredging and implement the rules strictly. In order to be able to draw tangible benefit from dredging, it is important that the government works out a policy for efficient dredging management.
