KHULNA-MONGLA RAIL LINE PROJECT Lone buffalo breeding centre at risk

The ongoing Khulna-Mongla port rail line project has drawn sharp criticism from livestock experts and officials as it cuts through the country’s lone buffalo breeding farm.
The government priority project, connecting Mongla seaport and the rest of the country, has been limping along for over seven years due to its faulty design, lengthy progress and increased costs.
The project, launched on December 1, 2010, is scheduled to be completed by June 2018, but its overall progress so far is only 31 per cent. 
Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University poultry science department professor Md Anwarul Haque Beg said that if the rail tracks ran through the farm it would definitely harm the animals.
‘The authorities should relocate the farm,’ he said. 
The construction of the rail line, however, continues despite protests from the fisheries and livestock ministry. 
On Sunday, the livestock ministry submitted its final action plan on the track through the farm to the railways ministry. 
Initially, the 65.75-kilometre broad gauge track with other components like a 5.13km bridge over the River Rupsha, 32 small bridges, 111 culverts, 8 stations and loop lines was to be completed by June 2014. 
The project was taken under the first Indian line of credit at the cost of about Tk 1,700 crore jointly funded by the governments of Bangladesh and India.
The detailed project proposal was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council on December 21, 2010 while it’s revised DPP was approved on May 26, 2015 when the project deadline was extended till June 2018 and the cost was increased to Tk 3,801.61 crore.
The project officials said that the track was initially of 51km which was increased to 65.75km following the government decision to convert all railway tracks from 42 kilograms to 60 kilograms. 
‘Due to poor soil condition,’ said a senior project officer, ‘we have to dig 50m instead of 40m for piling in the River Rupsha to build the bridge.’ 
The project cost would go up following change in the design of the Rupsha bridge due to soil condition, officials said. 
Consulting Engineers Group Ltd of India and Nippon Koeyi India Private Ltd are working as consulting farms whose contracts will expire by June this year. 
According to the project office, the track will go through the Government Buffalo Breeding and Development Farm situated on about 38-acre area at Fakirhat in Bagerhat. 
The rail line will divide the farm into two and take 3.65-acre land to lay the track, railway officials said. 
Fisheries and livestock ministry officials said that the sound of the passing train would increase the risk of miscarriage for buffalos.
Following their objections, a committee was formed with prime minister’s economic affairs advisor Mashiur Rahman as its convener.
The committee members visited the project areas in October 2016 and decided not to change the alignment and proposed to acquire 20-acre land for the farm situated 150 feet north-west of the proposed rail line. 
Fisheries and livestock ministry joint secretary Ashim Kumar Bala alleged that they were not informed about the rail line’s alignment during the project’s design stage.
As it was one of the priority projects, the alignment were not changed, he added.
The overall project agreement will expire after February 2020.
Khulna-Mongla port rail line construction project director and BR general manager Md Mojibor Rahman told New Age on Sunday that it took time to complete the initial project works, including land acquisition.
‘The problem has been solved as the fisheries and livestock ministry has accepted the railways’ demand,’ he claimed, adding that the project works would be completed by the project agreement time. 
Fisheries and livestock ministry deputy secretary Md Golam Mostafa said on Sunday that they had submitted a final action plan to the railways ministry on designs for land acquisition, constructing approach roads and estimating schedules and expenditure.