Farraka slows down river flow: PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday observed that the Farraka Barrage in India and the environmental changes had weakened water flows in rivers in Bangladesh, said planning minister MA Mannan after a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council.
She also directed the Bangladesh Water Development Board to stop construction of sluice gates on rivers, Mannan told reporters.
Hasina joined the ECNEC meeting virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban.
Quoting the prime minister, Mannan said that the water flows through rivers across the country had decreased due Farraka Barrage in India.
She also blamed the environmental changes for the falling trend of the water flow in the biggest delta on earth, Mannan told the reporters in an online briefing.
While approving two BWDB projects in the ECNEC meeting, the PM observed that the concept of sluice gates introduced in the country 40-50 years back was no more valid now.
Hasina also directed the authorities concerned to develop suitable models of the government establishments for erosion-prone areas so that they could be transferred elsewhere in case of emergency.
The PM expressed dismay over the devouring of a brick-built multi-storey school building by the Padma at Shibchar in Madaripur.
Had the school been built by imitating the models of houses built with tin and woods in Munshiganj, the establishment could have been saved, Hasina told the meeting.
She directed that a provision of constructing rest houses should be scrapped from two Roads and Highways Department projects, as a result of which more than Tk 6 crore would be saved, said Mannan.
The PM observed that the concept of rest houses introduced during the British colonial period was no more valid since the movement inside the country was made faster, according to the planning minister.
Hasina, however, said that she would welcome a separate project for integrated rest houses across the country.
The PM reiterated her government’s stance on brining the highways under toll system.
She said that the toll collection system should be hassle-free and user- friendly.
News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net
