Bangladesh dredges Naf River despite junta objections

By Admin 29 Apr 2023

DMG Newsroom
29 April 2023, Maungdaw

The Bangladeshi government continues to dredge at the estuary of the Naf River, which marks the border of southeastern Bangladesh and northwestern Myanmar, despite objections from Myanmar’s military regime.

Bangladesh has been dredging daily at the estuary near the Shahparirdwip jetty using a dredger and a tugboat, according to Rakhine Daily, a mouthpiece of the Arakan State military council.

Bangladesh also dredged at the estuary of the Naf River in December 2021. Myanmar’s junta filed a complaint with the Bangladeshi government on January 12, 2022, in accordance with a bilateral agreement that bans dredging at the river. The regime will also file a complaint this time, according to Rakhine Daily.

The Myanmar regime has accused the Bangladeshi government of using dredged sand and silt to fill in land near Shinmaphyu point to expand its economic zone.

Maungdaw residents have also called for actions to stop dredging at the Naf River estuary.

“Dredging can have serious consequences to local people who live nearby. From an environmental perspective, mangrove forests can be damaged by erosion. So, people will have to suffer more in case of a storm,” said one Maungdaw resident.

Activist Ko Than Kyaw Htoo said it is unacceptable that the Bangladeshi government continues to dredge the river despite objections from Myanmar.

When asked by DMG, Arakan State military council spokesman U Hla Thein said he has no knowledge about the junta’s objection to Bangladesh’s dredging of the Naf River. Arakan State security and border affairs minister Colonel Kyaw Thura was unavailable for comment. Maungdaw Township administrator U Kan Tun Aung also said he had no knowledge about dredging.

The Naf River’s average width is 1,400 metres. It flows into the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean, between Bangadesh’s Cox’s Bazar District and Arakan State.