News Flash
DHAKA, April 11, 2025 (BSS) - The Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) is implementing a 46-kilometer re-excavation of the Swai River in Mymensingh.
Publishing a report on this, the BWDB said the work is going on in Moylakanda Mouza under Gouripur upazila of Mymensingh district.
The report said that out of the 23 km re-excavation work of the first package, work of 22.5 kilometers has already been completed smoothly. However, the work of 500 meters has been obstructed by a local, citing a court order.
The report said that the High Court declared all the rivers of the country as living entities in a landmark verdict on February 3, 2019. The verdict said that even if the land of the river is recorded in the name of an individual, it will be considered null and void and that land will be classified as a river.
The report stated that once the re-excavation is completed, the Swai River will return to its original form as a living entity, which will enrich the environment and economy of the region.
Once upon a time, large boats used to ply on the Swai River, and the main means of transportation for people of Shyamganj and surrounding villages was the Swai River. Boats loaded with paddy, jute and other crops used to ply on this river.
The re-excavation work of the Swai River is being implemented in line of the long-standing demands of the local people.
The report said that due to the use of groundwater for irrigation during the dry season, the water level is gradually going down, and the crop density in the river basin is continuously decreasing and biodiversity is under threat. In the existing reality, the BWDB has taken up the re-excavation of the Swai River.
"Two committees have been formed comprising senior officials of the Ministry of Water Resources, IMED, Planning Commission and Bangladesh Water Development Board to resolve the land-related complications. A letter has been sent from the Water Development Board to the Deputy Commissioner, Mymensingh, to identify the river site in order to complete the unfinished work of the Swai River," the report further said.
