Ecnec okays river saving scheme

Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) yesterday approved two projects of Tk 1,972 crore to free five rivers in and around Dhaka of pollution and illegal occupation and conduct capital dredging of the rivers Jamuna and Dhaleswari.
Ecnec also okayed a project to build a 3km flyover from Mirpur-12 to Hazrat Shahjalal (R) International Airport at a cost of Tk 192 crore.
The Ecnec meeting approved seven projects, including the three, worth Tk 2,840 crore with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
The project titled 'Capital Dredging of River Systems In Bangladesh' would cost Tk 1,028 crore.
Under the project, capital dredging will be done from the upstream of Sirajganj Hardpoint to Dhaleswari uptake and from Bhuapur Tarakandi Embankment to Nolin Bazar to maintain navigability of the rivers.
The Ecnec also approved Tk 944 crore project for Buriganga, New Dhaleshwari, Pungli, Bangshai and Turag rivers.
The aim of this project is to increase water flow in the Buriganga and the Turag and maintain their navigability.
It also aims to free the rivers from illegal occupation and develop irrigation and fisheries. The project work will start on July and end by June 2014.
The Ecnec also approved South-Western Coordinated Water Resources Planning and Management (revised) project at a cost of Tk 283 crore, project for setting up Barisal Engineering College at a cost of Tk 74 crore, Development of National ICT Infra-Network for Bangladesh Government (BanglaGovNet) project at a cost of Tk 281 crore and Strengthening the Research and Exploration Capabilities of the Geological Survey of Bangladesh project at a cost of Tk 38 crore.