Tk 85 cr projects to save crops in haors

Of the amount, Tk 6 crore has been sanctioned for Suamgnaj and the work will begin in two weeks, Water Resources Minister Hafij Uddin Ahmed said at a public meeting at the Old Bus Stand in the Sunamganj town recently. It was organised by local BNP.

The projects will be implemented in low-lying areas to protect crops from flood, he said.

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Ruling party Whip in the Jatiya Sangsad Fazlul Haque Aspia and Kolim Uddin Ahmed Milon MP also addressed the meeting, chaired by Akbar Ali.

"I witnessed the devastation by repeated floods in this part of the country this year. Paddy crops of farmers in the region need protection, which can not be ensured by Water Development Board projects.

This year, work of the projects will start in December and be completed ahead of floods, he said.

The projects in Sunamganj will save crops on about one lakh acres of land in the haor areas, he said.

The minister said, some long term projects would be started in the region later, for which survey is going on.

He also advised the farmers to change the cropping pattern gradually to avoid floods.

Before the meeting, the minister attended a workshop on 'strategy for protection from flood damage in haor region' as chief guest. It was held at the Sunamganj Circuit House, it was otganised jointly by the Centre for Natural Resource Studies (CNRS) and Action Aid, Bangladesh.

Crops worth about Tk 450 crore were damaged by floods in Sunamganj this year.