In July 2023, I learned from media sources that a project for four rivers has been approved by the ECNEC. The project is called ‘Ensuring river flow in the dry season, developing waterways and constructing flood management to restore the flow of Jinai, Ghaghat, Banshi and Nagda rivers’. The project was supposed to be raised by the ECNEC in July 2022. In order to hold back on new projects, this project was not raised by the ECNEC that year. A year later, in 2023, the government approved this project at a cost of Tk 4,168 crore.
Since we see the Ghaghat River all the time and work with it, I am interested in knowing about the project. As a member of the Rangpur District River Protection Committee, I want to know about the matter from the DC and the president of the District River Protection Committee at a meeting on river issues.
The then DC of Rangpur said that he knew nothing about this. He had no information. Since I am also a member of the Rangpur Divisional River Protection Committee, I raised the issue in the Divisional River Protection Committee meeting. I saw that the Divisional Commissioner’s office also had no information about this. The Divisional Commissioner also did not know.
The maintenance or erosion control work on rivers that are not navigable is mainly done by the PAUBO (Water Development Board). PAUBO worked on the erosion-prone areas of the Ghaghat River three-four years ago. Not only that, but it has also excavated many places where dredging is required.
Assuming that the Water Development Board is aware of the new project on the Ghaghat River, I asked the Rangpur Chief Engineer and Superintending Engineer, but they also did not know. No one knows, it is incomprehensible how such a project was approved.
During the previous Awami League government, I was investigating why this project was taken up. In the end, an official gave the impression that this project was basically the result of a conspiracy of a few individuals. The main purpose of which was to launder money.
There are different estimates of how much money will be spent on the Ghaghat River alone. Some are talking about 1.5 billion taka, some are talking about 2 billion taka. However, the estimated cost is said to be around 1 billion taka. Since the project was prepared according to the market price of 2022, its cost is expected to increase further in 2025. The government of Bangladesh is the provider of this money. At the time of approval, it was said that the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) will implement the project.
The Ministry of Shipping works on rivers that are navigable. The Ghaghat River is not suitable for navigable transport. Many bridges have been built on this river. Since the bridges are low, it is not realistic to operate boats on the Ghaghat. As a result, there is no reason for the Ministry of Shipping to work on this river.
A survey must have been conducted before accepting a project worth thousands of crores of taka on the Ghaghat River. There is no such department of the Ministry of Shipping in Rangpur that can conduct survey work in Rangpur. To do this work, the DC office should have at least been aware of the existing structure. Since the Water Development Board has worked on the Ghaghat River, the project should have been accepted in coordination with them. In reality, none of that happened. How the survey was conducted, how the project got approved, all of it is mysterious. The lack of coordination in river-related work is also understandable.
Projects of individual and group interests usually depend on the whims of the powerful. If a powerful person wants to approve a project, no matter how many meetings are held to approve it, they give their approval without considering whether the project is necessary or not. Many such unnecessary projects were taken up during the previous government. Four or five years ago, the Ministry of Shipping implemented a project worth several hundred crores of taka in the name of dredging in the Dudhkumar River in Kurigram district. That dredging did not benefit the people on the other side of the river at all. It did not even benefit the river itself. Rather, the unplanned dredging that was carried out has intensified the erosion on the other side of the river.
If the project is found to be unnecessary after verification, then legal action will have to be taken against those involved. As far as I know, many such projects were taken under the Ministry of Water Resources during the Awami League government for personal gain or for dishonest political purposes. Among them, those that were not completed or not started and are worth canceling have been canceled by the Ministry of Water Resources. Projects that have been taken not in the public interest, but in the interest of a few high-ranking individuals and in some cases, considering the interests of individuals, must be canceled. The project that has been taken on the Ghaghat River mentions three other rivers. We also need to consider whether the projects taken on these rivers are actually needed or not.
The Ministry of Shipping works on rivers that are navigable. The Ghaghat River is not suitable for navigable transport. Many bridges have been built on this river. Since the bridges are low, it is not realistic to operate boats on the Ghaghat. As a result, there is no reason for the Ministry of Shipping to work on this river.
The project titled ‘Ensuring the flow of rivers in the dry season, developing waterways and constructing flood management to restore the flow of Jinai, Ghaghat, Banshi and Nagda rivers’ should be re-evaluated. Only the work that is necessary should be done on these rivers. If it is found unnecessary, it should be canceled. At this moment, it is most important to work to prevent erosion of the Teesta or Brahmaputra rivers across the country. The damage caused every year due to erosion and flooding in the Teesta river alone is about one lakh crore taka. The money from the mentioned project can protect the Teesta river.
The work on the projects undertaken on four rivers including Ghaghat has not yet started. Everyone is aware of the looting of money for unnecessary projects in the past. We hope that the advisor to the interim government will take this matter into consideration and will not implement the project without verification. As important as river protection is, it is also important to stop the wastage of state money.
Source: Prothom Alo
