Abhaynagar (Jashore) Correspondent: A large-scale river re-excavation project has begun under the supervision of the Bangladesh Army to alleviate the long-standing waterlogging problem in theVobodohregion of Jashore. On Friday (October 24) afternoon, the 24th Engineering Construction Brigade of the Bangladesh Army inaugurated the re-excavation work of five rivers, spanning a total of 81.5 kilometers, at a cost of Tk 1.4 billion at theVobodoh21-vent sluice gate area in Payra Union of Abhaynagar Upazila.
Jashore Deputy Commissioner Md. Azaharul Islam attended the inauguration ceremony as the chief guest. Among the special guests were Lieutenant Colonel Mamun Ur Rashid, Project Director from the Army; BM Abdul Momen, Project Director from the Water Development Board (WDB); Major Gazi Nazmul Hasan, Project Officer from the Army; Palash Kumar Banerjee, Executive Engineer of the WDB; Sheikh Salauddin Dipu, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Abhaynagar; and Nishat Tamanna, UNO of Monirampur, among others.
According to project sources, on September 23 of this year, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Water Development Board (WDB) and the Army’s 24th Engineer Construction Brigade to address the waterlogging crisis in theVobodohregion. Under this agreement, five rivers will be re-excavated: 35 km of the Harihar River, 20 km of the Harihar and Teligati Rivers, 18.5 km of the Upper Bhodra River, 7 km of the Teka River, and 1 km of the Shri River—totaling 81.5 km.
Ranjit Bawali, Convener of theVobodohWater Drainage Movement Committee, said,
“The initiation of river re-excavation work by the Army has brought new hope to the people of theVobodoh region. We believe this will finally relieve us from the long-standing suffering caused by persistent waterlogging.”
Palash Kumar Banerjee, Executive Engineer of the Jashore Water Development Board, stated,
“With the inauguration, the river re-excavation project has officially started. Once completed, it will significantly reduce the long-term waterlogging in theVobodoh region. Additionally, we are planning another project in the future to remove accumulated silt from the rivers.”
Officials involved expressed optimism that the successful implementation of this project will mark a major step forward in resolving the chronic waterlogging issues in Jashore’sVobodoh region.
