The government’s failure to reopen the Mongla-Ghasiakhali channel to large ships and oil tankers is forcing large vessels to continue to travel through the Sundarbans, threatening the ecology and biodiversity of the mangrove forest.
On a recent visit, the Dhaka Tribune found many large vessels still plying the Sela River, although use of the waterway was supposed to have stopped on June 1.
On May 12, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan said the Mongla-Ghasiakhali channel would open to river traffic on June 1 and the Sela River route would be closed.
Ashraf Hossain, superintendent engineer of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) in Mongla, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that the Sela River route was not closed on schedule because the Mongla-Ghasiakhali channel was still being dredged.
The official in charge of dredging the channel, Forhaduzzman, said that lighter vessels with up to 8 feet of draft had been using the channel since May. He said the channel could not yet handle vessels with a deeper draft.
He estimated that the channel would be ready within the next two to three months.
Dredging began on July 1 last year to allow deeper draft vessels in the channel.
Due to poor navigability, the original Mongla-Ghasiakhali route was shut down in 2010, forcing vessels to use the Sela River instead.
The issue came under the spotlight last December 9 when an oil tanker capsized and spilled more than 80,000 litres of furnace oil into the Sela River.
The oil spill resulted in a temporary suspension of services on the Sela River route.
Use of the route was resumed on January 6, with the government promising to ready the Mongla-Ghasiakhali channel for operations by midyear.