Implementation work on the long-awaited Teesta Master Plan may begin by the end of this year. State Minister for Water Resources Farhad Hossain Azad expressed this optimism on Saturday (August 1) afternoon while inspecting the Buri Teesta Irrigation Project and river erosion-affected areas in Dimla Upazila, Nilphamari. During the visit, the State Minister stated that the technical committee formed for the Teesta Master Plan has already submitted its report. Full-scale work is underway to determine how quickly it can be executed. He expressed strong hope that the project would see the light of day by the end of the year, at least as a pilot initiative.
At the same event, the State Minister also announced initiatives to resolve the legal and administrative complexities surrounding the long-stagnant Buri Teesta Irrigation Project. Initiated in 1967, the BDT 130 crore re-excavation project had stalled during the previous government's tenure due to legal and various other complications. He assured that by the middle of this month, discussions will be held with affected local residents and concerned officials to withdraw the legal cases and find a permanent solution to this longstanding issue.
Additionally, the State Minister for Water Resources instructed the swift dumping of geo-bags and tube-bags to prevent river erosion in the Jhunagach Chapani area of Dimla. He clearly emphasized that the government's main goal is to protect people's homesteads so that no one loses even an inch of land or a single room to the river. Senior officials from the Water Development Board and local political leaders accompanied the State Minister during the inspection.
