Staff Reporter:
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will inaugurate a nationwide program this morning to excavate and re-excavate rivers, canals and water bodies aimed at improving irrigation, boosting agricultural production and strengthening water management.
The Prime Minister will formally launch excavation of 53 canals across the country by initiating the ex-cavation work of a canal at Kaharole upazila in Dinajpur district.
Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Saleh Shibly yesterday said that the premier will visit Dinajpur district today to inaugurate the nationwide canal excavation and re-excavation program.
He said Tarique Rahman will reach Saidpur Airport by air from the capital city in the morning and then he will go to the Balrampur Sahapara area in Kaharole upazila of Dinajpur district by road to launch the program.
Saidpur Political District BNP President Abdul Gafur Sarker said the Prime Minister will inaugurate the nationwide excavation and re-excavation of 53 canals simultaneously by opening re-excavation work of a 12-kilometer canal at the Balrampur Sahapara area in Dinajpur.
Later, the premier will address a rally there.
Abdul Gafur said after the inauguration ceremony, Tarique Rahman will visit the Faridpur graveyard in Dinajpur district town and offer ziarat at graves of his grandfather late Md Iskander Majumder, grand-mother late Taiba Majumder and aunt Khurshid Jahan Haque (Chocolate) and close relatives there.
Later, the premier will participate in an iftar with local dignitaries and political leaders.
The government has taken the canal re-excavation program as per the BNP’s election promise.
Many canals dug during the tenure of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman have now been filled in. Through the re-excavation of these canals, initiatives have been taken to facilitate the irrigation system, fish farming, duck farming, and strengthen the canal-dependent economy.
After inspecting the Sahapara-Balrampur canal on Friday afternoon, Women and Child Affairs and So-cial Welfare Minister Dr AZM Zahid Hossain said that the excavation of this 12-kilometer-long canal in Sahapara will benefit about 350,000 people.
It will provide protection from additional floods and provide irrigation facilities during the dry season, he added.
Noting that the program will be implemented in coordination with the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief and the BADC, Dr Zahid said not only excavation, but also canal bank protection, dam construction and tree plantation program will be taken up.
Arrangements will be made to use the canal water scientifically, so that agricultural production increases and the economic condition of the local people improves, he added.
