Bangladesh has launched a phased initiative to reclaim encroached urban canals, beginning with Mongla’s Thakurani canal to reduce waterlogging and restore natural water flow before the monsoon season.
Bangladesh’s State Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Dr Sheikh Faridul Islam said all encroached and dying canals in urban and suburban areas would be reclaimed in phases, with restoration work already underway on the government-owned Thakurani canal in Mongla municipality.
Speaking on Wednesday after inaugurating a canal cleaning programme at the Koborsthan Road area in Mongla municipality of Bagerhat District, the state minister said the initiative was launched in line with an election pledge to revive the canal, which he described as the lifeline of the port town.
He said cleaning operations had begun on the government-owned Thakurani canal to reduce waterlogging in the Mongla Port municipal area ahead of the upcoming monsoon season.
According to the minister, authorities have already identified 11 spots for the ongoing cleanup campaign.
He said the first phase of the project would focus on removing garbage and waste from the canal. Dredging activities would then follow, alongside the eviction of illegal structures from both banks to restore the canal’s natural water flow.
“We must save our canals ourselves,” he said.
Among those present at the event were Upazila ExecutiveOfficer and municipal administrator Sharmin Akter Sumi, Mongla municipal BNP president and former mayor Md Zulfikar Ali, general secretary Mahbubur Rahman Manik, Mongla upazila BNP president Abdul Mannan Hawlader, general secretary Abu Hossain Poni and other local dignitaries.
