The shipping adviser, MA Matin, on Wednesday expressed his resentment over the absence of effluent treatment plants in different industries, which continue to pollute the River Turag and Tongi Khal. Rajdhani Unnayan Kartri-pakkha, the city development agency, also came under the wrath of Matin, also the adviser in-charge of the home ministry, for filling up a portion of the River Balu to implement Purbachal housing project. The adviser, who visited the Dhaka Circular Waterway, also asked the authorities concerned to go for immediate action against the factories that were dumping toxic waste into the river and the canal, said an official of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority. During the visit, the adviser found many dyeing factories discharging their untreated waste into the Tongi khal, which has also been polluting the River Turag. The BIWTA official said about 17 dyeing factories, located in areas stretching between Tongi and Khardi of Kaliganj, had been discharging untreated industrial wastes into the Tongi Khal as they have no effluent treatment plant. The adviser also showed his resentment seeing a portion of the River Balu near Isapur in Rupganj upazila of Narayanganj, which has been filled up by Rajuk to implement its Purbachal project. Matin in his visit also found a brickfield set up after filling a portion of the River Turag and asked the authorities concerned to shift it from the area. The visit with three speed boats started from Demra and ended at Tongi. Shipping secretary Sheikh Enayet Ullah and BIWTA chairman Abdul Mannan Hawladar were among others who accompanied the adviser. The BIWTA on Tuesday awarded the work order for excavation of the river routes under the second phase to a firm SEL and SAQ Consortium. The firm will soon start to excavation of seven kilometres areas stretching between Ashulia and Tongi Railway Bridge, said an official of the BIWTA. Under the second phase, 23km area of the rivers will be excavated, said the official adding that BIWTA dredger will also start dredging of one lakh cubic metres near Kanchpur Bridge from next week. The rest of about 15km area will be excavated in the next fiscal year, he said. The BIWTA on February 18 started excavation of Badda canal and Gobindapur canal under the waterway project, he informed. The excavation work of Rampura canal will be begin in next fiscal, as the authorities did not get any satisfactory offer from the bidders, he said. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council on August 20 approved the phase-II of the circular waterway project to be commissioned at the cost of Tk 47.50 crore. The route in this phase will stretch from Ashulia to Kanchpur via Tongi. The work of the phase-II includes dredging of 32 lakh cubic metres of silt, and construction of four jetties and terminals buildings. In the first phase, 29.5-kilometre-long waterway between Sadarghat and Ashulia was completed in March 2005, and is already in operation. The circular waterway is designed to be 110 kilometres long, including existing 40-kilometre waterway from Kanchpur to Sadargaht via Narayanganj and Munshiganj.