Govt to build eight new rubber dams worth Tk 173cr

To reduce the dependence on ground water for irrigation, the government is set to build eight rubber dams for Tk 173 crore aiming to harvest surface water in different rural and hilly areas of the country.

Under the project, surface water from the rubber dams will supply surface water to 12,550 hectares land of these districts, which can help produce additional 55,125 tonnes crops annually.

Initially, the Agriculture Ministry drafted a project to build the rubber dams in Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Bandarban, Sunamganj and Habiganj districts, and two hydraulic elevator dams on a trial basis.

However, Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation later relocated the proposed site for three dams in Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar to Pirojpur, Jhalakathi and Netrokona due to various issues.

Later, the ministry sent the second amendment of the proposal to the Planning Commission seeking an extension till June 2022 for completing the project.

“We have cleared the project at a Project Evaluation Committee (PEC) meeting for the further extension of the project. The project has been sent to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council for final approval,” Ramendra Nath Biswas, member of the Planning Commission, told The Business Post.

He also said the PEC also asked the ministry to complete the project as per the proposed timeframe as the Planning Commission will not approve any revision or extension to the project.

The BADC data shows that the irrigation area expanded by 10.5 lakh hectares over the last 10 years.

Meanwhile, the Agriculture Ministry inaugurated the country’s first hydraulic elevator dam in Chattogram’s Anwara upazila last year to retain surface water for farming, specifically crop irrigation.

Hydraulic elevator dams resemble sluice gates in series, each operable individually, in combinations or altogether using hydraulic power.

According to the BADC sources, diesel fuel will be used to run the rubber dams and built-in generator for elevator hydraulic dams.

The government is targeting use of surface water for irrigation to 30 per cent of the total irrigation area by 2030, in order to reduce dependence on groundwater, according to the ministry of agricu.lture.

It also aims to reduce ground water usage for irrigation from the existing 73 per cent to 70 per cent of the total irrigated land.