After a long wait, the dredging work of the Pashur channel of Mongla
Sea Port will begin next month. After 60 weeks from the beginning of
the dredging works ships carrying the national flags of the foreign
countries will be able to reach the port directly. As a result, the
ships will not be forced to anchor at Harbaria and Joymonirgol, 20
kilometers off the main port for loading and unloading of the goods.
If the dredging project of Tk.106 crores is implemented India, Nepal
and Bhutan will be able to use the port.
It is learnt from the engineering department of the Port authorities
that when Mongla port was established in 1950 the depth of the
confluence of the rivers Pashur and Mongla was 35 feet.
During the last 63 years from 1950 to 2013 the depth was reduced to
such a stage that at present a ship of 9 feet draught cannot enter the
channel. Consequently, 131 kilometers of route from the Fairway of the
Bay of Bengal to the jetties of the port became risky. Over one
hundred shoals were formed in he different places of this long route.
Moreover, wrecks of some sunken ships remain in some places of the
route.
Foreign ships require the help of the pilots appointed by the port
authority to reach Harbaria from the Mongla Port. As the route is
risky the captains of the foreign ships are not all willing to go to
the Harbaria area from the Bay of Bengal.
In the fiscal year of 1991-1992 a Chinese company removed 35 lakh
cubic feet silt from the route at a cost of Tk.32 crores. In the
fiscal year of 1994-95 one lakh cubic feet silt was also removed on an
emergency basis.
The Pashur channel is being silted up with abnormal rapidity. But its
silts could not be removed for want sufficient funds and contractors.
In 2009 as the dredging of the Pashur channel of Mongla Port was
demanded by the Parliamentary members of both government and
opposition parties in the parliament and a Tk.100 crore project was
passed in ECNEC on April, 2009 for dredging the Pashur channel of
Mongla Sea Port.
According to the project, 15 kilometers of the channel between
Joymonirgol to jetties of the port would be dredged. In 2010 an
international tender was invited. The tender for second time invited
on April 19 in the same year. The tender was invited for thitd time on
July 13, 2010. This time three companies responded to the tender and
the China Harbour Company’s offer was accepted.
It is learnt from Kawsar Ali Gazi, the chief engineer of the port
authority that on June 23 cabinet committee approved the project.
According to the project, some 33.11 lakh cubic silt will be removed
from the Pashur channel. The work order may be given on July 15 while
the dredging work will be started in the month of August and some 50
weeks may be required to complete the dredging work.
Commander Enamul Haq, the Harbour Master disclosed to the newsmen that
as the depth of the channel around the Jetty of the port was reduced,
the goods carried by big ships are unloaded at mooring buoys at
Harabaria, Joymonirgol and Karamjal and the rest are unloaded at the
jetty of the port.
Manjur Kader, Manager (Collection) of Mongla Cement Factory said in a
meeting of the port authority that the factory had to pay extra costs
to bring the goods to the factory unloaded at Joymonirgol, Harbvaria
and Karamjal.
It is learnt from the different sources that if the dredging work of
the channel is donethe then foreigners will be interested to use the
port and that the export and import and the trade and commerce of the
south-west region will increase to a great extent.
It is learnt from traffic sector sources of the port authority that
the representatives of India, Nepal, Bhutan visited the Pashur channel
more than once in order to use the port.
It is mentionable here that the activities of Chalna Port started
just with the arrival of a ship named City of Lions carrying the
national flag of a foreign country at Joymonirgol on December 11,
1950. In the 90s the name of the port was changed as Mongla Port. -Our
Correspondent
