State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury on Saturday said an international standard river port will be set up in Chandpur to ease the traffic movement through the waterways. “The office of the Department of Shipping has been opened in Chandpur. As a result, there is no need to go to Dhaka for collecting fitness certificates for the water vehicles and other services. Shipping services will be reached to the door of the people.” Khalid Mahmud said this while addressing the concluding programme of ‘Maritime Safety Week-2022’ as the chief guest at Chandpur Shilpakala Academy.       Read: Navy to get more sophisticated warships, war equipment: Hasina Warning the sand extractors, the state minister said legal actions will be taken against the illegal and unplanned sand extractors, no matter how strong they are. “We need sand from the river. But not in an unplanned way,” he said.       Khalid said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is leading the development works of the shipping management including recovery of the extinct and encroached rivers and bringing back the water flow in those rivers by dredging. "She (Sheikh Hasina) has also emphasized collecting more dredgers to recover the waterways. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had collected seven dredgers after the Liberation War of the country to keep the navigability of the rivers," Khalid added. The State Minister for Shipping also said, “The prime minister will mesmerize the world on June 25 next. We, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will build Sonar Bangla, dreamt by Bangabandhu. The Ministry of Shipping wants to play a special role in this achievement.”  Commodore AZM Jalal Uddin, Director General of the Department of Shipping chaired the programme while senior secretary of the Ministry of Shipping Md. Mostafa Kamal, among others, spoke. 

The government banned movement of ferries with heavy vehicles under the Padma Bridge until strong current of the river is brought under control, said State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury on Tuesday. However, ferries with light vehicles can move only on the Shimulia-Banglabazar route, said the minister while talking to reporters at the Secretariat. “It is difficult to move ferries with heavy vehicles during strong current on Shimulia-Banglabazar route. So only light vehicles and ambulance carrying ferries can cross the river till further notice,” he said. Also read: Ferry hits Padma Bridge pillar: BIWTC forms probe committee People have been asked to use Paturia-Daulatdia ghat and Harina ghat in Chandpur for vehicles and the number of ferries will be increased on those routes, he added. “It is so unfortunate that a number of collisions occurred with pillars of the under-construction Padma Bridge which is so embarrassing,” said the state minister. The government has taken the decision after the collision of a ferry with a pillar of under-construction Padma Bridge. Earlier in the day Bangladesh Inland and Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) suspended the master and the Sukani of Ro Ro Birsreshtha Jahangir over the incident of the ferry hitting the pillar Padma Bridge. Also read: 20 hurt as ferry hits Padma bridge pillar The suspended were identified as Master Inland Master officer Mohammad Delwarul Islam and Wheel Sukani Mohamamd Abul Kalam Azad. Besides, a five-member probe body led by joint secretary Rashedul Islam, Director (technical) of BIWTC, was formed to look into the incident. The committee has been asked to submit its report with recommendation within three working days. Two other incidents of ferry colliding with the bridge’s pillar occurred in July and August.