Dumping poses a big problem
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority is planning to remove 3 lakh cubic metres of sludge and solid waste from the Buriganga riverbed though its engineers do not know how they would dispose of this huge volume of rubbish.
Moreover, questions have been raised about the equipment and methods to be used for this unprecedented cleaning operation and indeed what the benefit of this project would be when tonnes of waste are dumped into the river every day.
The cleaning of the Buriganga riverbed starts January 6 to continue for an unspecified period over an area of one kilometre on both sides of the Second Buriganga Bridge. The river is on an average 30 feet deep in this area. BIWTA sources said they have already selected, through tender, a number of private companies to undertake the job. The estimated cost of the cleaning operation under this pilot project stands at around Tk 6 crore, which includes both the cost of cleaning and safe disposal of the rubbish.
BIWTA's Chief Engineer (Dredging) Abdul Matin said the rubbish extracted from the riverbed would be placed in a barge and taken to Gabtoli and Amin Bazar areas for dumping.
He admitted that this posed a problem. "If we use the DCC dumping site at Amin Bazar it will be filled up very fast as we need acres of land to dispose of this sludge and rubbish," Matin said.
"We are therefore also trying to find interested land owners who may buy the sludge for landfill. As per our contract with the private companies, the BIWTA owns the material extracted from the riverbed," said Matin hinting that any revenue coming from the sale of the sludge would go back to his organisation.
"They [the companies] are under legal obligation to dispose of the wastes but we have to designate the area on which it could be dumped," Matin added.
BIWTA officials admit that the cleaning of a riverbed is a new concept in the country and they lack experience. The authority has no specialised equipment to undertake this work, and is planning to remove the deposited wastes using a "grab excavator", mounted on a barge, which would be lowered into the riverbed.
"This is a pilot project and money for which comes from our own revenue budget. We shall learn from the project to eventually move onto cleaning the Balu and the Turag," said another top official of the BIWTA seeking anonymity.
Questions also remain about the benefit of removing this waste from the riverbed when no action is being taken to stop dumping of household and other waste into the river. Every day tonnes of solid waste are dumped into the river Buriganga at various spots.
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