Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh on Wednesday said the width of the Buriganga old channel has increased ten times since the beginning of demarcation activities, eviction drives, re-excavation and waste disposal initiatives. He made the remarks while talking to reporters after visiting the ongoing cleaning and re-excavation activities in Buriganga old channel. “We’ve taken initiative to restore the Buriganga old channel for the first time. It was challenging and expensive,” he said.  Read: Gymnasium to be built in every ward: DSCC Mayor Taposh The width of the canal narrowed down due to the encroachment but it has been possible to increase the width almost ten times, he said adding, the project is still ongoing.  “We had to face many challenges.  A lot of cases have also been filed. We have taken the matter to the High Court and we are proceeding", Taposh went on.  DSCC started the project initially through self -financing, Taposh said, “In the meantime, we have hired consultants. Our main goal is to recover the channel properly”.   Read: DSCC evicts 188 illegal shops in Nilkhet Chief Executive Officer of DSCC Mizanur Rahman, Chief Engineer Saleh Ahmed, Secretary Akramuzzaman were present among others, said a press release.

The re-excavation work of the Old Channel of the Buriganga River may start this month, said Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Fazle Nur Taposh on Wednesday. He made the remark while talking to reporters after visiting the Companighat Sluice Gate in the capital’s Kalunagar. “The tender process of the re-excavation work is at its final stage. We hope that we’ll be able to start the work within this month. We’ll start the work after demarcating the area by demolishing all the illegal structures surrounding the river,” said Taposh. Replying to a question, Taposh said that DSCC has already retrieved six and a half acres of land from occupants. Besides, a 10-storey illegal structure beside the Buriganga River has also been demolished. “We’ll be able to reclaim the government land this time too,” added Taposh. He also said that the DSCC authority is repairing the sluice gates keeping the increased water flow during the monsoon season in mind. “We’re yet to receive the repaired sluice gates officially. Currently we’re focusing on how to keep them running,” added the Mayor.    MP of Dhaka-9  Saber Hossain Chowdhury, DSCC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Farif Ahammad, Chief Waste Management Officer Air Commodore Sitwat Naim other officials were present during the Mayor’s visit.