Sadarghat Launch Terminal
BIWTA heedless of passengers, Buriganga
City Correspondent
The BIWTA (Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority) officials, currently active to save the river Buriganga, fail to notice the dirt under their own nose. Right beneath the BIWTA office at the Sadarghat launch terminal piles of rotten rubbish float in the near stagnant river water, spreading a stench and exposing thousands of passengers to health hazards. Officials at the BIWTA office at the terminal building claimed that time-to-time they clean the area. "We clean the area every few weeks but the rubbish keeps accumulating as there is no flow in the river water," said the senior deputy director of the Sadarghat port. The entire Sadarghat terminal area bears the testimony of total lack of maintenance. Filthy staircases, toilets walkways and the rubbish-strewn river water make the Sadarghat launch terminal a place to avoid until one has to avail water transport. The BIWTA charges each passenger Tk 4 for entrance into the terminal building. On an average over 50,000 people use the so-called facilities of Sadarghat launch terminal, one of the largest river ports in the world.
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Rotten rubbish at the Sadarghat launch terminal pollutes the river and the atmosphere of the busy terminal. PHOTO: STAR |
