If implemented, it will be possible to prevent river erosion and control flooding in the project area through canal excavation, regulator repair, reconstruction, river bank conservation and embankment conservation.
Besides, agricultural production will be increased and food security will be ensured by preventing the entry of saline water.
Ramendra Nath Biswas, Member (Secretary) of the Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Institutions Department of the Planning Commission, who is in charge of the project, said that if the project is implemented, it will be possible to protect various government and non-government infrastructures including Barguna Sadar and Betagi Upazila roads.
Besides, it will be possible to control floods and prevent the entry of salt water, he said adding that, with these considerations, the project has been recommended for approval.
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The concerned people think that it will be possible to protect various government and non-government infrastructures worth around Tk 3,169.49 crore, including roads, from the terrible erosion of the Payra River.
The project titled 'Rehabilitation of Polder 41/6A, 41/6B and 41/7A in Barguna district and protection of other risky areas including Betagi town from erosion of Bishkhali and Payra rivers' has already been proposed in the Planning Commission.
The project is proposed by the Ministry of Water Resources and it will be implemented by the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB).
BWDB says the entire coastal area was subdivided into smaller polders by polarization in the 1960s to protect the coastal region from natural disasters such as high tides, floods, tidal surges and cyclones.
This turned the whole area into permanent agricultural land. But every year floods, tidal surges and cyclone-hit cyclones cause severe damage to coastal dams.
According to BWDB sources, on an average, about 25 meters of land is lost in the erosion of the Payra River and about 22 meters in the Bishkhali River every year.
However, no comprehensive rehabilitation program has been taken to rehabilitate the polders.
A Planning Commission official said that the PEC (Project Evaluation Committee) meeting was held on June 13 after receiving a proposal from the Ministry of Water Resources.
It has been recommended to present the project at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) as the recommendations given at that meeting have been complied with.
If approved, it will be implemented by June 2024 by the BWDB.
The main activities of the project include: protection of 7.85 km of river banks, protection of slopes of 3.515 km of dams, repair of 42.52 km of dams, re-excavation of 22.50 km of canals, construction of 17 regulators, repair of three regulators and 44,352 bridges.
