Fund crunch hampers BIWTA’s dredging work
30 March 2023
Staff Reporter :
Dredging and various development works in different government organisations like Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) and Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) have been hampering due to acute fund crisis.
Meanwhile, goods laden cargos have been hampered to anchor in Mir Qadim and Ashuganj river ports because of navigability problem as the BIWTA failing to conduct dredging works for fund crisis, sources said.
Dredgers are being kept idle as the organisations failing to supply oil to operate the dredgers. As a result, various spare parts of the dredgers have been losing their longevity and working capacity because of keeping the dredgers idle for long, they further said.
According to sources, files are being kept pending in the name of query, which is also hampering normal work as officials concerned fearing to complete their remaining tasks in due time as three months behind to end the fiscal years 2022-23.
Commodore Arif Ahmed Mustafa joined the BIWTA as Chairman on March 9 and he succeeded Rear Admiral Gholam Sadek.
There were some problem to supply oil to dredgers and now overcoming it, Commodore Arif Ahmed Mustafa, Chairman of BIWTA said while talking to this correspondent on Wednesday.
He said that oil is now being supplied to some dredgers and the problem will end soon.
"I can't clear the file randomly as I have to check it to stop misuse. I am newly joined here and have to need to gather some knowledge," Commodore Arif Ahmed Mustafa said in reply to a query.
However, sources in the BIWTA and BWDB said that if funds are not released the situation might be disastrous in waterways as water vessels will be unable to ply for navigability problems if rivers are not dredged.
Huge numbers of people will leave Dhaka during the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays through waterways, sources said adding that this is the proper time to dredge the waterways to keep them navigable for smooth operation of water vessels.
The sources said it is taking huge time to shift goods from the cargos through small vessels which contributing to additional cost as cargos failing to anchor to pontoon for unloading due to navigability crisis.
Besides, the government is also depriving from revenue earning because of navigability problem, the sources added.
