The rehabilitation of polders along the Naf River will be undertaken afresh, giving the highest priority to national and public interests, Water Resources Minister Md Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anee said on Tuesday.
‘The project will be restarted, keeping national and public interests at the forefront,’ he said at a meeting with beneficiaries and local residents of the Naf River polder rehabilitation project at the Teknaf Upazila Parishad conference room around 11:30 am.
The meeting was organised under the second revised project titled ‘Rehabilitation of Polders (67/A, 67, 67/B and 68) along the Naf River in Ukhiya and Teknaf upazilas to improve border security between Bangladesh and Myanmar in Cox’s Bazar district’, being implemented by the Bangladesh Water Development Board under the Ministry of Water Resources.
Anee attended the meeting as the chief guest. State Minister for Water Resources Farhad Hossain Azad, Cox’s Bazar-4 (Ukhiya-Teknaf) MP Shahjahan Chowdhury, the secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources, the chairman of the Bangladesh Water Development Board and senior officials concerned were present, along with local political leaders and public representatives.
The minister announced that the border road and polder rehabilitation project had already received a substantial allocation of funds. Despite repeated revisions and additional allocations, the project had failed to deliver the expected benefits to local people, he said.
He also questioned the rationale for repeatedly revising the project and allocating additional funds.
‘We now have to take a fresh decision in the public interest. As an elected government, we have a responsibility to the people. The project has become a significant challenge for us. But we cannot sit idle; the project has to be completed,’ Anee said.
He said the work would be restarted after considering border security, flood control, river dredging and other essential needs of local people, while keeping national and public interests in mind.
The minister said the process might take time, as technical studies and necessary assessments would need to be completed before taking the next steps.
He also stressed that the government would consider agriculture, livelihoods, and environmental concerns when implementing the project, and said it would take steps to resume work in cooperation with local residents.
Later, Anee and the state minister visited the western embankment at Shah Porir Dwip. They spoke with local residents and were briefed on the embankment’s current condition, erosion, and other problems in the area.
Cox’s Bazar Life Report
Photo: Courtesy
