The Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) has failed to implement the much talked-about Buriganga River Restoration Project (New Dhaleswari-Pungli-Bangshi-Turag- Buriganga River system), within the stipulated time. The BWDB undertook the Tk. 944.09-crore project in 2010, to infuse new life into the four rivers—the Buriganga, the Turag, the Balu and the Shitalakkhya—around the capital by supplying water from the river Jamuna. The project was scheduled to be completed by December this year.
The project was undertaken without ensuring adequate funds, a BWDB official said, adding that only some dredging work had been done. “Very little work has been done and rivers which had been dredged got filled up again, through siltation. Most of the money has been wasted in the name of Buriganga river restoration project (BRRP),” he said.
A total of Tk. 16 crore was spent on the Turag, while Tk. 70 crore is being spent on the river Pungli, under the BRRP. The concerned department has failed to implement the project due to funds crisis.
Mohammad Ali, executive engineer of Tangail, said they had been trying to dredge 32-km river bed of Pungli, between Elenga and Fatehpur, at a cost of Tk. 70 crore. “We are yet to complete the work, but it would be completed soon. We have got only Tk. 40 crore, against the tender value of Tk. 70 crore,” he said.
Replying to a question, he said the work was scheduled to have been completed in June. Tariq Abdullah Al Fayes, executive engineer of Dhaka, said they had already completed 6.95-km dredging of the river Turag, under the BRRP, at a cost of Tk 16 crore, in September last year. According to BWDB sources, crores of takas have been syphoned off, in the name of dredging projects.
The BRRP’s main objective was to dredge about 162-km waterways, which would help in removing stagnant and polluted water, with the project’s successful implementation, by supplying fresh water to these rivers from the river Jamuna. Under the project, about 7.11 crore cubic metres of wastes need to be removed from 162-km waterways. A total of 5.53 crore cubic metres of earth spoils would be removed manually, and 1.57 crore cubic metres will be removed by dredging.
Under the project, the Jamuna waters would be brought to the Turag and Buriganga through New Dhaleshwari in Tangail, as well as the Pungli and the Bangshi rivers. A BWDB official said, “It will improve the water quality and enhance the water flow in the rivers Buriganga and Turag during dry season. Besides, it will also ensure the rivers’ adequate depth, for the ships to ply all round the year.”
The official also said that the project’s successful implementation will help develop irrigation facilities and fisheries, and control the rivers’ unauthorised encroachment.
The industries located at Tejgaon, Hazaribagh, Keraniganj, Tongi and Shyampur around the capital are the major river polluters. They are also causing much harm to the environment, he added.
-With The Independent input
