Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir on Monday said the re-excavation of canals in Sylhet will help resolve irrigation shortages and waterlogging, bringing around 1,500 bighas of land under cultivation.

“Once the canal re-excavation is completed, people in the area will start benefiting from increased crop production, flood control and tree plantation from the first year,” he said.

The minister made the remarks while inaugurating the excavation of the Champatoli canal under a canal re-excavation programme in Osmaninagar upazila of Sylhet district.

Besides it would also help to address both irrigation shortages and water stagnation while enabling farmers to cultivate more land, he said.

Tree saplings of different species will also be planted along the canal banks, he added.

Noting that Sylhet is largely a single-crop region, the minister said due to lack of irrigation during the dry season and waterlogging in some agricultural lands, farmers cannot produce additional crops.

Responding to a question about the price gap between wholesale and retail markets, the minister said some variation in prices between the two levels is normal.

“However, the government is cautious so that the gap does not reach an unacceptable level,” he said, adding that a fact-finding committee will be formed after Eid to identify unreasonable price differences in essential commodities and agricultural products.

The committee, comprising traders, professionals and government officials, will hold public hearings in the presence of consumers and business representatives.