Similar steps on all riverbanks planned

Following the success of Jamuna Meghna River Erosion Mitigation Project (JMREMP), Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) decided to implement similar projects on all riverbanks in the country to tackle river erosion.
As the project taken in 2003 also proved to be cost effective, BWDB Additional Director General Makbul Hossain said, “From now we will use its methodology to stop river erosion.”
BWDB organised a seminar on 'Dissemination of JMREMP River Bank Protection Methodology' at a hotel in the city yesterday with Makbul giving a presentation.
He said the project's cost is half that of conventional methods used against river erosion. “Every kilometre by conventional method costs Tk 30 crore against Tk 15 crore of the project's.”
In the project, polypropylene bags filled with sand are dumped in a regular manner, one metre from the natural slopes of the riverbank towards the river.
Water Resources Minister Ramesh Chandra Sen, State Minister Mahbubur Rahman, Secretary Shaikh Wahid-uz-Zaman, and Asian Development Bank Unit Head of Portfolio Management Unit Stefan Ekelund also addressed the seminar.
BWDB Director General Habibur Rahman presided over the programme.