Dredging gives new life to a Titas channel

The livelihoods of nearly half a million people living adjacent to the river Titas has improved improve after pilot dredging. The dredged part of the channel of the river Titas is located at Titasu Upazila under Comilla district of Bangladesh. The channel originates from the river Meghna and flows into the river Kathalia.

At present, uninterrupted movement of water vessels in the river boosts rural trade and commerce. As the small entrepreneur Mohammad Taijul Islam notes, "I can now easily take bricks and sand from Machimpur to Batakandi and other areas at a low cost by using the river route.  It enables me to expand my business further."

The dredging restored the normal water flow of water in the river. This is in sharp contrast to the fact that the channel previously had merely three to four months of water flow during the rainy season. This river was last dredged forty-three years ago. As is well known, inland water transport has always been a natural and relatively cheap means of transport in Bangladesh. It is still very important in certain areas where waterways are the only mode of transport for carrying goods and passengers.

This scheme was taken up under the Second Rural Transport Improvement Project (RTIP-II) of the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) at a cost of Tk 97.6 million, jointly funded by the Bangladesh government and the World Bank. The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) is one of the largest public sector organizations entrusted with the planning and implementation of local level rural urban and small scale water resources infrastructure development programs.

The dredged part is 11.3 kilometres from Char Kumaria to Machimpur point via Batakandi Bazar, where the Titas meets with another river, namely, Kathalia. The width extended around 20 metres in the narrow part and 25 metres in the wider part. For easy movement of passengers and goods, apart from loading and unloading facilities, jetties with ramp and toilet facilities are under construction.

One hardly needs to restate the truth that Bangladesh is a land of rivers. The country is covered by a dense 24,000 km long network of many rivers, canals, creeks and haors. Currently, 8,000 km, including 6,000 km of classified waterways, are navigable for large and mechanized vessels during the wet season. But it is reduced to 4,800 km in the lean season. Both natural and morphological processes and the withdrawal of water from the rivers beyond the borders and siltation cause dry season navigability of rivers.

This effort establishes normal operations of transport and irrigation network in the immediate vicinity.  Restoration of the regular flow of water in the river has brought back vibrancy in citizens' lives in the surrounding 100 villages, thus boosting the local economy alongside having a visible positive impact on the ecology.

A conversation with a farmer, Md. Harun, near Machimpur Bazar --- he was preparing his agricultural land for the lean season by using stored water from the Titas --- revealed that the river used to witness water flow for three or four months only during the rainy season. Local people observed that after completion of the dredging water can still be seen flowing in full stream even in the month of December, thereby enabling farmers to irrigate their crop fields which they had to do earlier by using groundwater. 

The constant flow of water in the river has had a tremendous impact on the eco-system as well as the livelihood of the local people through generating new employment opportunities in the fields of fishery, agriculture and river transport. The local Member of Parliament, Md. Amir Hossain, observed that "with the dredging of the river Titas, the cost of doing business in the area will come down, irrigation facilities will be increased and the livelihoods of fishermen will improve as economic activities in these areas largely depend on the navigability of the river."

Recent media reports depict the new life of the river Titas through portraying a constant flow of water in the river, navigability, transportation, migratory birds, and fishes with flora and fauna.

LGED Chief Engineer Shyama Prosad Adhikari let it be known that the LGED is planning to take up a program to dredge small rural rivers and canals countrywide as part of the vision of the government to foster rural connectivity towards improving the quality of life of the people of Bangladesh.  He noted that the Titas was the first successful pilot river dredging project of the LGED, an instance that will provide inspiration in future.  
 

The writer is Project Director, Second Rural Transport Improvement Project (RTIP-II), LGED

-Md. Mostafa Kamal