United News of Bangladesh

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on Thursday said the government is implementing a wide range of projects on irrigation, flood management, riverbank protection, waterlogging mitigation, drainage improvement and salinity control as part of its sustainable water resources management strategy. He said special initiatives have been taken to restore at least one river in each division by removing illegal encroachments to maintain ecological balance. Under seven ongoing projects, measures are being implemented to clear encroachments and restore the natural flow of several rivers including Dhaleshwari, Louhajang, Alaikuri, Mogra, Salta, Sutang, Bakkhali and Barnai, the Minister said while placing budget in Parliament. The minister said a Water Quality Index (WQI) has been developed for rivers surrounding Dhaka, while an AI and deep learning-based real-time dashboard has been introduced to monitor groundwater levels, aiming to strengthen data-driven water governance. He further informed the House that the Ministry of Water Resources is implementing a nationwide programme titled “Excavation and Re-excavation of Rivers, Canals and Water Reservoirs,” under which 20,000 kilometres of canals, rivers and drainage channels are planned to be excavated over the next five years by relevant ministries. In FY 2026–27 alone, the ministry plans to excavate and re-excavate 680 kilometres of canals, irrigation canals and drainage channels. A GIS-based national canal database will also be developed under a separate project to identify and classify canals across the country. For flood protection, the government has set a target to construct, reconstruct and rehabilitate embankments and flood walls and improve river navigability over a total of 309 kilometres, while 484 kilometres of submerged shoals will be removed. Additionally, 292 kilometres of embankment and flood wall works are currently underway under a 180-day flood protection programme. He also highlighted impacts of upstream dams on the Teesta and Padma rivers, saying reduced water flow has affected agriculture, irrigation, fisheries and biodiversity in Bangladesh’s river basins. In this context, the “Padma Barrage (Phase-I)” project has been approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC). The project, to be implemented from July 2026 to June 2033, includes construction of a 2.1-kilometre main barrage and a hydropower plant at Pangsha in Rajbari. Once completed, the project is expected to enable storage of 2,900 million cubic metres of water, prevent salinity intrusion in the Padma basin including the Sundarbans, support irrigation for 2.88 million hectares of land, and significantly boost agricultural and fish production. The government is also moving ahead with the “Comprehensive Management and Restoration of the Teesta River Project,” commonly known as the Teesta Master Plan, aimed at improving livelihoods in northern Bangladesh.