Shipping Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam on Sunday last said 16 government agencies under the ministry are working to keep the waterways operational across the country, according to a media report published on Monday.
It augurs well that the government has turned its attention to this sector of our economy. The minister said each of the 16 agencies will be made effective to ensure safe waterways journeys. Development of waterways is the sine qua non for economic growth. But in Bangladesh inland waterway routes have suffered a gradual decline not only in navigable length but also in service quality and safety standards.
Though Bangladesh is a riverine country, utter nonchalance has been shown to our rivers and the navigability essential for plying the water transport. It is absolutely essential to maintain the waterways properly to reduce our business expenses.
Bangladesh has been blessed with 16,000 kilometres of waterways. Inland waterways have to be increased and improved because we are largely dependent on roads and highways and railways in the transport of containers. If the huge network of waterways can be made fully functional, pressure on roads will decline significantly and transportation of goods will become much easier. If the use of waterways can be increased, the time, money and expenditure will be significantly reduced. Mentioning that waterways are extremely important in riverine Bangladesh, an expert said 90 percent of the country’s total goods are transported through waterways and efforts are being made to increase the volume further in future. Water vessels were previously examined manually, but it is good sign that from now on the process will be conducted digitally.
Infrastructural weakness including shrinking of waterways is a major hurdle to achieving the economic growth. The length of the internal waterway is currently 16,000 kilometres of which around 7,500 kilometres are operational. Efforts are underway to keep 1,200 kilometres of waterways navigable through dredging and there are scopes to make another 4,500 kilometres operational. In order to increase the internal waterways, it is necessary to dig some rivers for activating the naval routes under a special plan.
At present economic growth is lower, but if the waterways are increased, it is possible to increase growth. For this, the authorities concerned will have to put adequate stress on improving the infrastructure of all river ports and land ports as well and improve the skill of human resources.
On an average, 5000 vehicles are ferried daily on the Aricha and Daulatdia river routes. Often there are obstacles in the movement of ferries because of lack of navigability and fog during winter vehicles get stranded due to char on the bed of the river as well. Despite taking extensive precautions last year, two accidents on waterways caused immense grief. All those involved with water transport services must remain alert and aware all the time.
The number of passengers on waterways declined significantly compared to the past and that’s why passengers’ must be restored through strengthened safety measures to increase the number of commuters on waterways again.
