PM to launch nationwide canal excavation prog today
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is set to inaugurate a nationwide programme on Monday to excavate and re-excavate rivers, canals and other water bodies in a bid to improve irrigation, strengthen water management and increase agricultural production.
The premier will formally launch the initiative by inaugurating excavation work of a canal in Kaharole upazila of Dinajpur district, which will simultaneously mark the start of re-excavation activities for 53 canals across the country.
Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Saleh Shibly said the prime minister will travel to Dinajpur on Monday morning to launch the programme.
He is scheduled to fly from Dhaka to Saidpur Airport and then proceed by road to the Balrampur Sahapara area in Kaharole upazila, where the inauguration ceremony will take place.
Local leaders said the prime minister will initiate the nationwide programme by launching the re-excavation of a 12-kilometre canal in the Sahapara-Balrampur area.
According to Abdul Gafur Sarker, the inauguration of the canal work will symbolically mark the simultaneous start of excavation and re-excavation of 53 canals throughout the country.
The prime minister is also expected to address a public rally following the inauguration ceremony.
After the event, Rahman is scheduled to visit the Faridpur graveyard in Dinajpur town to offer prayers at the graves of his relatives, including his grandfather, the late Md Iskander Majumder, his grandmother Taiba Majumder and his aunt Khurshid Jahan Haque. He will later join an iftar gathering with local dignitaries and political leaders.
The government has taken the canal re-excavation programme in line with a key electoral pledge of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
Many canals originally excavated during the tenure of former president Ziaur Rahman have gradually silted up or been filled over time, affecting irrigation and water flow.
Officials say the new initiative aims to restore those canals and revive canal-dependent economic activities, including irrigation for agriculture, fish farming and duck rearing.
Earlier, Women and Child Affairs and Social Welfare Minister AZM Zahid Hossain visited the Sahapara-Balrampur canal site on Friday and said the excavation of the 12-kilometre canal would benefit around 350,000 people in the surrounding areas.
He said the restored canal would help protect communities from excess flooding during the monsoon season while ensuring irrigation water for farmland during the dry months.
Zahid said the programme will be implemented in coordination with the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief and the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation.
In addition to excavation work, the initiative will include canal bank protection, construction of dams and embankments, and tree plantation along canal banks.
Authorities also plan to introduce scientific water management systems so that canal water can be used efficiently to increase agricultural output and improve the livelihoods of local communities.
