‘Govt plans to excavate 20k km canals in 5 years’

Relief and Disaster Management Minister Asadul Habib Dulu has said the government has a plan to excavate and re-excavate 20,000 kilometers of canals within next five years to boost up the agriculture, reduce water logging and strengthen flood management.

He said this while inaugurating the re-excavation work of the Borua Canal at Kulaghat union under Sadar Upazila on Wednesday.

The program was organized by Lalmonirhat district administration. The nationwide canal excavation initiative is a part of implementing key commitments made in BNP’s election manifesto, the minister said.

According to the minister, the canal excavation program was given priority at the very first cabinet meeting after the present government assumed in office, reports BSS.

For the current year, the government has set a target to excavate at least 5,000 kilometers of canals, of which his ministry will implement about 1,500 kilometers, the minister said.

He added that the district administrations have already identified the canals across the country and the excavation program has been launched simultaneously in 54 districts recently.

Dulu said that restoring long-neglected and silted canals would improve irrigation for farmland, facilitate drainage system during monsoon and reduce flood risks.

Fruit-bearing and medicinal trees will also be planted along the banks of the canals to help protect the environment and contribute to the local economy, he added.

He further noted that the canals would create opportunities for pisciculture helping generate employment for local communities.

Among others, Deputy Commissioner of Lalmonirhat H. M. Rakib Haider, Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mononita Das, Officer-in-Charge of Sadar Thana Abdul Matin, Lalmonirhat District BNP Joint General Secretary Mominul Haque, Co-Joint General Secretary ABM Faruk Siddiqui and Kulaghat Union Chairman Idris Ali, were present.