Ghoshiakhali channel reopened

Taking a swipe at green activists for their silence about keeping the Mongla-Ghoshiakhali river channel inoperative for long 21 years, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said they were very much vocal against Rampal Power Plant.

“Environmentalists are now making a hue and cry although the power plant [at Rampal] is being set up 14 kilometres off the Sundarbans. But I never heard them uttering a word when the Ghoshiakhali channel was shut alongside closing down the access points of some 234 connecting canals and leasing them out for shrimp enclosures,” she said.

The PM was addressing a function while inaugurating the re-excavated Mongla-Ghoshiakhali river channel alongside 11 new dredgers and 76 auxiliary vessels from the Gono Bhaban through videoconference.

Hasina alleged that many trees were felled and the wild habitat of the Sundarbans was also destroyed during the last 21 years.

Due to the closure of the Ghoshiakhali channel, the marine vessels and ships had to ply the Shela river, endangering the habitats of dolphins, Bengal Tigers and other wild animals, she added.

But after the assassination of Bangabandhu in 1975, the BNP and the successive governments did not take any step to dredge the Ghoshiakhali channel and thus made the Mongla port inoperative, said the PM.

She further alleged that Ziaur Rahman, Ershad and Khaleda Zia destroyed the channel through leasing out some 234 connecting canals in the Sundarbans for shrimp enclosures.

Hasina said the movement of vessels in the Shela river was very harmful to the Sundarbans.

She stressed the need for conducting round-the-year maintenance and dredging for maintaining the navigability of rivers and canals.

The PM said she already ordered the water resources ministry to dredge some 83 big canals near the Sundarbans.

Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan spoke on the occasion. Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud and PM's Political Affairs Adviser HT Imam were present, among others.

The dredging of the 31-km Mongla-Ghoshiakhali channel began on July 1, 2014. The aim was to protect the Sundarbans and save time and fuel of vessels.

Nearly 182 lakh cubic metres of silt have so far been removed from a 26-km stretch of the channel. Besides, 62.12 lakh cubic metres of silt was removed during maintenance dredging. Eight dredgers are still at work in the channel. Its dredging has shortened river routes by about 81km. A total of Tk 250 crore has been spent on the project.

The Mongla-Ghashiakhali channel is an international protocol route between India and Bangladesh. Imported goods can be easily transported through this channel to the country's northern and southern regions.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had inaugurated the route, constructed by the BIWTA in November 1972-74, to link Mongla Port, Khulna and Noapara with other parts of the country.