The government is going to take up a project to dredge the outer bar in the Passur Channel, so that coal-laden vessels from India can ply up to the Rampal Power Plant, to be set up only 19 km from the Sundarbans. The Mongla Port authorities will implement the project at a cost of Tk. 73,282 crore during 2017-2021. The port authorities initiated dredging to increase naviga-bility of the channel at the outer bar to ensure anchorage of 10.5-metre draft ships. The project has been submitted to the Planning Commission, and a meeting of the project evaluation committee has already been held. The commission has sought some clarifications. According to the project plan, the Passur Channel will be dredged to a depth of 7.5 metres so that large vessels can sail on it. Operations of commercial tzrgo vessels have recently been stopped in the Shela river, so large vessels are using the Mongla-Pashur-Kokil mon i-Akrampoint route.The biodiversity of the Passur Channel. snaking past the mangrove forest, is threat-ened by vessels that dump oil into the water. According to the project, dredging will be done from Mongla Port up to 131 km upstream to ensure navigability of the river, so that imported coal can reach the power plant easily. An agreement was signed between Bangladesh and India in April 2013 for setting up the power plant. One of the main conditions of the agreement was that the government would conduct the primary dredging of the Passur Channel.
The maintenance work will be done by Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company.
Under the project, 103.95 lakh cubic metres will be dredged. Hydrological and morphological impacts of the dredging work will be moni-tored by hydraulic experts. the government has taken steps to develop Mongla Port and Payra Sea Port and also moved to set up coal-fired power plants, like the one at Rampal, to increase econom-ic activities in the region. For this, there is need to dredge the outer bar for anchorage of large ships for handling huge export-import activities after completing the construction work of the Padma Multi ose Bride.
post :eindependentbd.com
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