2 vital Brahmaputra projects ignored

Bringing the river back to life can provide irrigation to about 30 lakh acres of land in greater Mymensingh to produce additional crops worth about Tk 100 crore at negligible cost and make another 20 lakh acres flood-free, Water Development Board (WDB) officials here said.

Two projects--Old Brahmaputra Irrigation Projects and North-Mymensingh Irrigation Projectare gathering dust for over two decades, they said.

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Greater Mymensingh can be made flood-free if the North-Brahmaputra Irrigation Project is implemented, they said.

Dredging of any portion of the river was not done in the last two decades, allowing massive deposit of silt, dumping of garbage and emergence of numerous shoals, they said.

Several hundred river ports and trade centers along the 297 kilometre river are now silent.

The river has silted up completely at Kustia, Ashtadhar, Bidyaganj, Bygonebari, Boror Char, Char Sirta, Char Iswardia and at many other points in Mymensingh Sadar and Gafargoan upazilas. At many points, people cross the river on foot in dry season.

It has another face also. The silted river can no more retain the flow of water rolling down the hill across the border, triggering devastating floods and washing away habitats and crops on both sides. Thousands of people are make homeless in Mymensingh and Jamalpur every year due to floods and erosion.