Surma-Kushiyara Project
I felt very sad after reading the report about the above-mentioned project which was published in your paper on 30 December 2007. The information that the project is not being implemented properly due to the apathy of the officials concerned is very unfortunate. The frequent downward revision of the budget is proof that it has not been formulated properly. Most of the croplands of the projects area are haors (flat low land) suitable for growing only one crop in winter (mostly boro rice) but rice crop is damaged by floods, partly or wholly, almost every year. This has been happening from the time immemorial.
The poverty caused by frequent crop failures forced many families of the area to migrate from their birthplaces. I vividly remember the heart-rending scenes that I saw in my childhood when the members of the migrating families bade good-bye to their ancestral homes with tearful faces. The governments in the past did not do anything to address this problem. Elites of the area also did not take any interest in this matter. When I was in govt. service several people approached me to know if I could do anything to solve the problem. I could do nothing.
The project taken up at long last envisages control of floods, drainage and irrigation not only to save crops but also to enhance productivity. It raised expectation of the farmers that their sufferings will probably come to an end. If 49 thousand hectares are brought under the HYV rice crops per year, the total annual production of clean rice will be at least four lakh tons having a value of Tk 50 crore. So the funds spent for the project will be realised within five years. Moreover, the project should be taken up throughout the country, particularly in the flood-prone areas. It may not be out of place to mention that the expatriates of the five project upazilas have already earned for the country an amount of foreign exchange which is thousand times more than the costs of the project.
I hereby request the hon'ble adviser in charge of the ministry of water resources to kindly give attention to the issue in order that the project is implemented properly and fully. If funding is an immediate problem, the implementation period may be extended. Frequent downward revision of budget and stopping release of funds obviously raise suspicion about the good intention of the government. I also request the implementing authorities to get the local people involved. This will bring down the number of mistakes that may occur in such projects. It will be useful if personnel having exposure to haor ecology are employed in the project. Finally, I urge upon the political and other elites of the project upazilas to please show interest in it.
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