Unpredictable Padma delays river training

The overall progress of river training of the mighty river Padma has fallen short of its target while the government is upbeat about opening the Padma Mul-tipurpose Bridge in June next year.Still around 17 per cent of the river training work is left which will take time and experts asked to complete it before opening the bridge for vehicular movement.River training is an important com-ponent in the prevention and mitiga-tion of fl ash fl oods and general fl ood control, as well as in other activities such as ensuring safe passage of a fl ood under a bridge.The fl ow direction of the river will change while erosion will happen on another side of the river bank where fl owing water will hit, they said, adding that the river training needs to be done at faster pace.The work of river training has fallen short of what should be in terms of the construction of the main structure of the bridge, says the progress report of the project published in June.The unpredictable characteristics of the river Padma, riverbank erosion, riverbed scouring and fl ash fl ood are attributed to a comparatively less progress in river training than that of bridge construction.The overall progress of river train-ing is now 83.50 per cent while that for main bridge 93.50 per cent. Being one of the turbulent rivers in the world, it has strong current and a huge amount of silt that had been cre-ating problems since the start of the bridge construction.

Prof Shamim Z Basunia, head of Panel of Experts, Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project found river training most chal-lenging job because of the river’s un-predictable characteristics.Protecting river bank, dredging and setting concrete blocks for coastal and erosion protection under the river train-ing work are sensitive jobs, he said.Following the start of work in No-vember 2014, part of the construction site at Mawa point was washed away by the river. Due to strong current in 2017, a deep canyon was formed at Mawa point.Apart from this, erosion also oc-curred at diff erent times at the end points of Mawa and Jajira that all led to the disruption to river training, offi cials involved in the project said.On July 31 last year, some parts of the construction area of Kumarbhogin Louhajongof Munshiganj got damaged while many goods in the construction yard were also washed away due to strong current of the river.Experts apprehend that the prob-lemsmight continue in the coming days.Ainun Nishat, member of the panel experts of Padma Bridge, said the risk is within an expectable limit. The project would be open for all in June next year. “There will always be 1 per cent risk in any work. The mighty Padma isan unpredictable river. The contractor has already completed river training work in major areas. Now the river-training related work is going on about 4-5 kilometres away from the main bridge,” he said.During the laying of the bridge pier in 2017, soft soil was found during soil test under 22 poles. Then the design needed to be modifi ed.Initially, it was planned to place six piles (steel foundation deep in the ground) under each pier, but it was decided to amend the design and the number of piles was increased by one