News Flash
RANGAMATI, April 26, 2026(BSS) - Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Affairs Minister Dipen Dewan today said canal excavation was begun by Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman for improving farmers’ livelihoods and removing water logging during the monsoon season.
Talking to the journalists after inaugurating the re-excavation of several canals at Sapchhari and Kutukchhari unions under Rangamati Sadar upazila, the minister expressed his concern that the successive governments failed to continue such initiatives.
“The successive governments neither re-excavated the rivers and canals nor protected them, instead, many were encroached upon,” he added.
The minister formally launched the canal re-excavation works spanning nearly 33 kilometers, with a total estimated cost of Taka 8.5 crore. The project includes excavation from Mankichhari Chhara Bridge to Boropara canal, as well as stretches from Kutukchhari Bazar to Montola and canals extending to Maurum and Bogachhari.
Dewan further noted that the present government under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has revived the canal excavation initiative as part of its 31-point reform agenda and a 180-day priority action plan.
He said that due to the suspension of such public welfare activities in previous governments and widespread illegal encroachments, many canals had been filled up, which has disrupted the rainwater drainage and created severe water shortages during the dry season, adversely affecting biodiversity and environmental balance.
The minister also emphasized that the programme will not only boost agricultural production but also create new entrepreneurial opportunities in the region. The government has undertaken special projects aimed at self-employment for local residents, which are expected to bring transformative changes to the economy of the hill districts, he added.
Among others, Deputy Commissioner of Rangmati Nazma Ashrafi, minister’s Private Secretary Rabindra Chakma, Rangamati Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Kamrul Hossain Chowdhury, LGED Executive Engineer Ahammad Safi, and Rangamati District BNP General Secretary Mamunur Rashid Mamun, were present at that time.
