Bangali River dredging resumes

Dredging of the Bangali River, the longest one in Bogura, resumed recently after a long break due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The excavation project, which started in November 2018, will dredge some 217 kilometres of the river, from Gaibandha’s Gobindaganj upazila to Sirajganj’s Baghabari upazila, with a massive budget of Tk 2,300 crore, said Bangladesh Water Development Board’s (BWDB) Bogura office sources.

According to the River Research Institute of Bangladesh and BWDB, the project came to light because of the speculation that the river might meet the mighty Jamuna River and devour some one lakh hectares of land in Bogura and Sirajganj.

That is why the government had taken the step to excavate the river to bring back navigability, they said.

About Tk 1,800 crore had been disbursed for dredging, and the remaining Tk 500 crore for the river’s reservation, they also said.

The three-year project was supposed to be completed before June this year. However, due to the pandemic-induced restrictions, the project faced a long halt.

Md Abdul Rahman, deputy director of BWDB Bogura, told The Business Post, “We set three years for dredging the river. However, as the work had to be halted due to the pandemic, we have to extend the time.”

“We are planning to apply to the higher authority of BWDB, asking for an extension,” said the BWDB official.

The 183km-long and 143 metre-wide Bangali River encompassing Gaibandha, Bogura, and Sirajganj used to be so ferocious some 50 years back that it used to devour adjacent areas and river erosion was a common problem in nearby localities, said BWDB sources, adding that Belal, Manos, Modhukhali, Ichhamati, Bhaluka, Sukhdaha, etc. are the tributaries of the river.

Mamunur Rashid, a senior teacher of Bererbari Government Primary School in Bogura’s Dhunat upazila, said around 234 years ago, in 1787, the river, Bangali, then a tributary of the Teesta River, had emerged as the longest and most ferocious river in the locality.

He said, “For some artificial and natural causes, the river has lost its old glory. The government’s initiative to rejuvenate the river is praiseworthy.”

The river is very important for maintaining the locality's economic progress, and thousands of people in these areas are dependent on it, locals said.