The Hindu Business Line : Excessive shoaling of the river bed — DCI presses Dredge VII service in Haldia dock

AT the insistence of Haldia dock authorities, Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) is rushing one of its dredgers, Dredge VII, to Haldia to immediately start dredging near the dock's number one oil jetty as excessive shoaling of the river bed is obstructing the big ships to call at the jetty.

"We must start dredging forthwith before the weak tide which is due shortly," according to a spokesman for the dock.

It might be noted that DCI has already deployed four dredgers at Jellingham near the dock as part of the maintenance dredging undertaken by it in the Hooghly River throughout the year.

Kolkata port authorities, under which Haldia dock comes, have acquired Dredge VII from DCI on two-year contract. The dredger, which is a cutter-suction type, will be deployed not only near the jetty number one but also at other places such as approach channel to the dock, in the river as well as in the turning basin inside the dock.

At critical juncture: The dock sources concede that the condition of the number one oil jetty in the dock has become critical, as the dredging in the Haldia channel of the river including Balari has not been undertaken for years. As a result, there is a reduced tidal flow into the river system and rise in the rate of sedimentation and as a cumulative effect of all this, the Balari bar is reportedly fast advancing towards the jetty, endangering the jetty's existence. If unchecked, the advancing bar could even threaten the number two oil jetty, it is feared.

The situation, it is felt, can be corrected through implementation of the Rs 385-crore River Regulatory Scheme prepared by the National Institute of Ocean Technology. The scheme presupposes, among others, dredging of the Balari bar, involving removal of an estimated 10 million cubic metres of silt from a 10-km long, 500-metre width with 4.5-metre-depth channel.

Although the scheme has been prepared nearly two years ago, its implementation has not made much headway due to procedural delays. The Ministry's clearance is still awaited. The dock sources, however, point out that even if the scheme is cleared right now, it will be another year or so before the actual work on it can be started.

There are so many things, which need to be done before the actual dredging can be started. More important, all the important work has to be done during the dry season, i.e. from October to March. Half of the present dry season is over and the other half is too small period to embark upon work in full scale, it is felt.