The government of Bangladesh has launched a mega scheme to dredge 10,000 kilometres of riverways in the country to improve inland river navigability. The programme will be inaugurated on Saturday.
Announcing this on Friday, the Ministry of Shipping said in a Facebook post that the State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury will inaugurate the dredging work of Old Brahmaputra river in the Sherpur district on Saturday.
Speaking to the official news agency BSS, the Shipping Minister said that the purpose of the dredging work is to ensure round the year movement of goods and passenger vessels safely. It will also help the agriculture and fisheries sectors by improving water flow in the rivers, said the minister.
The dredging work will be carried out on 178 rivers of Bangladesh.
The dredging work is being carried out by the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) at a cost of Taka 4371 crore. The project is scheduled to be completed by June 2024.
Earlier, in February the minister had told parliament that the excavation of 470km of river routes under the Bangladesh-India river protocol had already begun. It will be jointly financed by the two countries.
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