Dredging starts today to remove Jamuna <i>chars</i>

Dredging to remove chars (shoals) emerged in the main channel of Jamuna River on both sides of Bangabandhu Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge (BJMB) will start today.
WDB sources said two dredgers--one from Arichaghat and the other from Kazipur-- have already been installed in the area. Water Resources Minister Ramesh Chandra Sen is expected to inaugurate the operation.
Due to the emergence of a number of shoals, flow of the mighty Jamuna has taken a turn to Sirajganj town protection embankment, about eight kilometers upstream of the bridge, devouring the embankment, adjacent lands and hundreds of homesteads.
WDB officials said the river erosion can be checked if shoals are removed to ensure smooth water flow in the main channel through dredging.
Navy divers have detected a few more large size gaps developed in the town protection embankment under water. As a result, panic of further breach in the embankment has again spread among the locals.
WDB engineers are still repairing the damaged portion of the embankment. The WDB workers with the help of police and army personnel are placing sand sacks in the vulnerable areas of the embankment.
However, report of an investigation team formed by the district administration on Tuesday said lack of proper monitoring by Water Development Board (WDB) was one of main causes behind the breach in the embankment.
Unplanned sand lifting from the riverbed near the embankment, movement of overloaded vehicles on the road cum embankment and obstruction to flow in the main channel of the Jamuna due to emergence of many shoals on both sides of Bangabandhu Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge are mainly responsible for the embankment collapse, says the report.
The investigation report of the six-member committee formed by the water resources ministry is yet to be revealed.