Editorial
Taking charge of Sadarghat terminal
Target should be to modernise and boost its revenue
THE government's decision to take over the day to day operation of the Sadarghat river terminal is a welcome move in that it will relieve the passengers of the hassles and harassments as well as the excessive burden of fees and tolls they have to pay there everyday. And if the Bangladesh Water transport Authority (BIWTA), which looks after the river terminals of the country, can carry out its task of conducting the operation of Sadarghat efficiently, it is also possible to turn this largest river port of the country into a potential gold mine of revenue earning. As it is, the terminal, which is a hub of economic activities, where transactions worth millions of taka take place regularly, can be made into a big source of revenue earning. But neither the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), nor BIWTA has ever given serious considerations to this very lucrative aspect of the terminal.
Since hundreds of thousands of people travel to and from different places through the Sadarghat terminal, its first and foremost task would be to make their passage hassle-free. Any one who has the experience to visit Sadarghat terminal or use its service, knows what an ordeal it is to cross its platform. It is chaos all over. The agents of the launch and steamer services trying to entice the passengers to their preferred vessels, the porters trying to overcharge them for carrying their luggage, while the leaseholders' men taking fees and tolls for entry and use of the terminal at an exorbitant rate. Besides, the greedy and irresponsible launch operators overload their vessels with more passengers than those can accommodate often leading to accidents taking their tolls in terms of hundreds of lives passengers, who had but resigned themselves to the tyrannies and irregularities at the hands of the private operators would now naturally expect better delivery of service from this change in the terminal's management.
But how may the new management also boost its revenue earning from this river port? That will need a good amount of imagination from the BIWTA authorities. If the overall atmosphere of the terminal, the view of both the banks of the river could be transformed into a disciplined, enjoyable and a scenic one, tourists, sightseers and even the common public would be eager to visit it just for the pleasure of it. For the purpose, a green belt has to be created on either banks of river at Sadarghat point.
Environmental degradation centring around Sadarghat terminal with garbage heaps, sewerage, polluted water, in a word, the entirely unhygienic condition of the area is in an appalling state. There is this serious environmental concern which, it is our belief, can and should now be better addressed through government control of the terminal.
However, to tap the huge potential of Sadarghat terminal as a source of revenue, the BIWTA has to be provided with all the manpower and logistics support it would need. Its service has to be modernised. And to top it all, the management has to be made transparent and accountable. On this score, the attention of the authorities concerned is being drawn towards the recommendations this paper had made earlier in consultation with some urban experts towards converting Sadarghat into a modern river port.
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