A Correspondent:
Teknaf: Water Resources Minister Md Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee has said the rehabilitation of the polders along the Naf River border road will be completed in consideration of national and pub-lic interests.
“The government is working to ensure border security, control floods, carry out river dredging and promote public welfare. Further steps regarding the Naf River polders would be taken after com-pleting technical surveys and necessary assessments,” he said.
He made the remarks yesterday while addressing a consultation meeting with beneficiaries and local residents on the rehabilitation project of the polders along the Naf River at the Teknaf Upazila Parishad auditorium in Cox’s Bazar.
Anee said substantial funds had already been allocated for the border road and polder rehabilita-tion project. Despite allocations and revisions at different stages, the project had not delivered the expected benefits to the people, he said.
He said that it was essential to implement the project by taking into account agriculture, people’s livelihoods, security and the environment. Initiatives would be taken to re-implement the project with the cooperation of local residents, he added.
State Minister Farhad Hossain Azad and Ukhiya-Teknaf constituency lawmaker Shahjahan Chow-dhury were present at the meeting.
Director General of the Bangladesh Water Development Board Md Ruhul Amin, senior officials of the ministry, local political leaders and public representatives were also present.
The consultation meeting discussed various issues, including the rehabilitation of the Naf River border road polders, the current condition of the embankments, project implementation, and the problems and expectations of local residents. Beneficiaries and local residents shared their views and raised concerns regarding different aspects of the project.
Later, the minister and relevant officials inspected the embankment at Westpara of Shah Porir Dwip.
During the visit, they spoke with local residents and learned about the current condition of the embankment, river erosion and other related problems.
