Funds had been misappropriated in the name of dredging and construction of dikes throwing the circular waterway project's future into uncertainty.

"How the authorities would maintain the navigability in the river Turag? Route from Sadarghat to Amin Bazar might be navigable throughout the year, but it would be impossible to ply the route towards Ashulia in dry season," some BIWTA officials who attended the inauguration ceremony at Ashulia Thursday, told BDNEWS.

"The navigation condition of the river Turag is the worst," Monwar Hossain, Director (port) of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) said, "If the flow of water is not increased, it will be tough to run vessels in the river Turag."

According to official sources, more than Tk 20 crore was allocated for dredging and construction of dikes. A top-level official said the project officials misappropriated about two-thirds of the amount, as in reality little dredging has been done.

The project authorities have shown on paper that they dredged 16.50 lakh cubic metres from Sadarghat to Ashulia Bridge at a cost of Tk 19.80 crore at a rate of Tk 120 a cubic metre.

Of which, 5.40 lakh cubic metres of soil was dredged from Sadarghat to Mirpur Bridge and 11.40 lakh cubic metres from Mirpur to Ashulia Bridge. The officials in the BIWTA termed figures imaginative. If the shown figures are true, there should not be any problem regarding navigation in the river Turag, the officials added.

Despite availability of means for verifying dredging works, the employees submitted false and motivated reports in exchange of bribe, a BIWTA official said requesting not to be quoted.

Besides, they embezzled a large amount by showing excessive use of fuel for dredging. "Of the 3,000 litres of oil they showed as requirement for one-day-dredging, only 500 litres were used while the rest were sold."

The project officials pocketed also about Tk 40 lakh by showing construction works of 10 to 11 dikes (ditches to keep dredged-mud). But, there was no dike in existence. The officials earned extra money by selling the mud.

The BIWTA director (port) admitted that he had heard about the misuse of the project funds. "We heard it frequently and in some cases, actions were taken," he said, adding, "But it continues unabated."