By IANS,
Dhaka : Bangladesh’s massive river dredging drive is for the first time using locally manufactured dredgers that are more cost effective and also energy efficient.
Dredge Bangla (Private) Limited has manufactured two dredgers that have been engaged in dredging the river Gorai, which was almost dead due to siltation caused by inadequate flow of water from the river Padma.
“This is for the first time that locally manufactured dredgers are being used. These dredgers are less expensive and energy efficient,” said Mohsin Ali, sub-divisional engineer of Bheramara Dredger Division of the Water Development Board.
The firm began working under a Taka 60 million ($1 million) pilot project to develop indigenous dredgers, New Age said Wednesday.
Little dredging was conducted in largely riverine Bangladesh since the British left in 1947. As a result, most rivers are heavily silted.
According to a recent study of Bangladesh Water Transport Authority, over 600 km of rivers are unfit for navigation.
The Sheikh Hasina government has launched a massive drive with Gorai and rivers surrounding Dhaka, the national capital, being taken up as priority.
While it is seeking international assistance, a part of the funding would come from the $1 billion loan on easy terms India committed in January when Hasina visited New Delhi.