Rajshahi to have a river port to improve trade with India
Image: Collected
The distance of the route is merely 18 kilometers and hope to transport 200 to 300 a lot of goods in each cargo
A river port will be set up in Godagari Upazila of Rajshahi district within per month, aiming to ease transportation of goods through waterways with India.
Goods will be brought to Sultanganj of the Upazila from Maya Port of Murshidabad in India via the Padma River.
Chairman of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) Commodore Golam Sadeq recently visited Sultanganj, a possible site in Godagari Upazila, to get started on the actions of the proposed river port.
He also visited the border area in the Padma river in a speedboat and exchanged views with officials of the neighborhood administration and public representatives.
Speaking at the meeting, the BIWTA chairman said both countries would be benefitted from the launch of the waterway through Godagari. “Today we inspected everything, like the navigability of the river,” he said.
The BIWTA chairman went on saying: “They're huge potentials...you want to launch this waterway on an experimental basis within per month.”
Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Shipping Muhidul Islam and Upazila Chairman Jahangir Alam were present at the meeting.
Meanwhile, Upazila chairman Jahangir Alam said once goods used to be transported between the two countries through Godagari that was closed a long time ago.
He said jute products used to visit India through in this manner at that time and the one's products could possibly be sent again after the waterway is launched.
“Huge fish are stated in Rajshahi. These fish can be exported to India. This will benefit Bangladesh economically,” Jahangir Alam said.
Sources at BIWTA said India and Bangladesh have agreed in principle to resume trade through the waterway on the Padma River.
BIWTA officials are actually inspecting the infrastructures of the waterway.
BIWTA officials say the launch of the waterway will raise the country's trade with India as huge goods could be transported through this waterway.
Though a 78km waterway from Rajshahi to Dhulian in Murshidabad in West Bengal was approved earlier, there has been no follow-up action.
Now, BIWTA has taken the initiative to shorten the brand new route from Sultanganj in Godagari Upazila of Rajshahi to the Maya River Port.
The distance of the route is only 18 kilometers. Through the dry season, 200 to 300 a lot of goods could be transported in each cargo.
During monsoon, the transportation of goods will be a little bit difficult because of the strong current in the river.
BIWTA has already requested the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to create a customs office at Godagari.
According to the sources, Murshidabad's “Pakur Pathar” has been used in big projects like Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. This is a stone of very top quality.
Importing the stone by road is expensive. The Godagari-Maya waterway will be utilized mainly for importing the Pakur stone, based on the sources.
Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com
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