The tragic tale of Narsunda River

Encroachment threatens to undo restoration work

A Tk. 110-crore river restoration project of the government in Kishoreganj district will not have the desired result, as a 3.5km stretch of the river cannot be dredged, thanks to encroachment.
The local government engineering department (LGED) is implementing the project titled "Rehabilitation of Narsunda River and Improvement of surrounding areas of Kishoreganj Paurasabha".
Project sources said the project will not be viable unless the Narsunda river is linked with the Old Brahmaputra at the Kawna embankment in Hossainpur.
While visiting the spot, this correspondent found that dredging of the 3.5km stretch has become impossible because of  mindless encroachment by influential quarters.
Project officials said the project will end by next December, but the river cannot be brought to life if the 3.5km stretch in the upstream is not dredged.
However, water resources minister Anisul Islam Mahmud directed the Bangladesh Water Development Board to link the river with the Brahmaputra by dredging the 3.5km stretch.
 “The present government has given priority to restoring rivers. We will take the initiative to dredge the remaining portion so that the Narsunda would get its life back,” the minister told The Independent.
 Without the support of the local administration and people, the most important and expensive project to restore the Narsunda in Kishoreganj district, which is also a dream project of public administration minister Syed Ashraful Islam, is being delayed.
Around 95 per cent of the physical construction and rehabilitation work has been completed.  
Although the project has been extended twice – one-and-a-half year in two phases – the project authorities failed to complete the work in the last three-and-a-half years. The project implementing authority, LGED, has set a target to complete the work by next December.
But officials concerned apprehend that it would not be possible to complete the work within the next four months, as the local administration, politicians and inhabitants of nearby places of the Narsunda are not cooperating with project officials.
They are creating obstacles by resisting project officials to continue with their work. Some of them are lodging complaints to the higher authorities, urging them to stop the project work and remove related officials as they cannot complete the work in time.
When contacted, the Kishoreganj Sadar upazila engineer, Mohammad Shah Alam Miah, refused to make any comment on the problem. He only said that they are about to complete the work. Around 95 per cent of the physical work has been completed, though the authorities have released 90 per cent of the total allocation for the project.
Once complete, it will be inaugurated by the public administration minister, who initiated the project by taking a queue from the beautification work of Dhaka’s Hatirjheel project. The scheme was taken up to turn Kishoreganj town into “Lake City Kishoreganj”. He said though the authorities concerned had earlier proposed to the Water Development Board to implement the project, the suggestion was turned down. Later, then LGRD minister Syed Ashraf, now public administration minister, asked the LGED to implement it. 

Now, the LGED is implementing the project.
According to project officials, the revised Tk. 109.19-crore project started on November 22, 2012. The initial project cost was only Tk. 63 crore. The project was revised first after two years and extended for another year. As the project remained incomplete, it was then extended by six more months. It is expected to be complete by December this year.
More than 35km stretch of the Narsunda river has already been dredged under the project. To dredge and recover encroached lands, the authorities concerned have brought down more than 250 buildings and semi-pucca infrastructures from the banks of the river, officials said.
While visiting the project area last Friday, it was seen that despite demolition of some multi-storied buildings, there are still some infrastructures inside the project areas. Claiming to be freedom fighters, they are refusing to give in. 
Despite the initiative of cleaning and dredging the river to ensure fresh water and clean environment in the project area, the nearby dwellers are still dumping household wastes, including human excreta, in the river. Abandoned plastic goods, city wastes and medical wastes are also being dumped.
It was also seen that the project authorities have renovated and widened four old bridges on the river so that wider vehicles could move on them. A total of 11 new bridges are being constructed over the river, of which some are unnecessary. Those are being built very close to other existing bridges. The bridges were included in the project due to some demi-official (DO) letters of an influential quarter.
More than 12km of roads were reconstructed under the project along with roadside drainage system. Two km of river banks were protected. Eight km of footpath, six viewing decks, 17 outfall drains, 136 lights, an amphitheatre, or open stages, and a watch tower were constructed inside the project area. Two mind-blowing parks and water transport ghat were also established there.
While viewing the project site from the watch tower, it was spectacular. The natural beauty can attract people. It can be the entertainment place for people of Kishoreganj and its surrounding places, local people told The Independent.

The tragic tale of Narsunda River

Encroachment threatens to undo restoration work

A Tk. 110-crore river restoration project of the government in Kishoreganj district will not have the desired result, as a 3.5km stretch of the river cannot be dredged, thanks to encroachment. The local government engineering department (LGED) is implementing the project titled Rehabilitation of Narsunda River and Improvement of surrounding areas of Kishoreganj Paurasabha. Project sources said the project will not be viable unless the Narsunda river is linked with the Old Brahmaputra at the Kawna embankment in Hossainpur. While visiting the spot, this correspondent found that dredging of the 3.5km stretch has become impossible because of mindless encroachment by influential quarters. Project officials said the project will end by next December, but the river cannot be brought to life if the 3.5km stretch in the upstream is not dredged. However, water resources minister Anisul Islam Mahmud directed the Bangladesh Water Development Board to link the river with the Brahmaputra by dredging the 3.5km stretch. The present government has given priority to restoring rivers. We will take the initiative to dredge the remaining portion so that the Narsunda would get its life back, the minister told The Independent. Without the support of the local administration and people, the most important and expensive project to restore the Narsunda in Kishoreganj district, which is also a dream project of public administration minister Syed Ashraful Islam, is being delayed. Around 95 per cent of the physical construction and rehabilitation work has been completed. Although the project has been extended twice one-and-a-half year in two phases the project authorities failed to complete the work in the last three-and-a-half years. The project implementing authority, LGED, has set a target to complete the work by next December. But officials concerned apprehend that it would not be possible to complete the work within the next four months, as the local administration, politicians and inhabitants of nearby places of the Narsunda are not cooperating with project officials. They are creating obstacles by resisting project officials to continue with their work. Some of them are lodging complaints to the higher authorities, urging them to stop the project work and remove related officials as they cannot complete the work in time. When contacted, the Kishoreganj Sadar upazila engineer, Mohammad Shah Alam Miah, refused to make any comment on the problem. He only said that they are about to complete the work. Around 95 per cent of the physical work has been completed, though the authorities have released90 per cent of the total allocation for the project. Once complete, it will be inaugurated by the public administration minister, who initiated the project by taking a queue from the beautification work of Dhakas Hatirjheel project. The scheme was taken up toturn Kishoreganj town into Lake City Kishoreganj. He said though the authorities concerned had earlier proposed to the Water Development Board to implement the project, the suggestion was turned down. Later, then LGRD minister Syed Ashraf, now public administration minister, asked the LGED to implement it. Now, the LGED is implementing the project. According to project officials, the revised Tk. 109.19-crore project started on November 22, 2012. The initial project cost was only Tk. 63 crore. The project was revised first after two years and extended for another year. As the project remained incomplete, it was then extended by six more months. It is expected to be complete by December this year. More than 35km stretch of the Narsunda river has already been dredged under the project. To dredge and recover encroached lands, the authorities concerned have brought down more than 250 buildings and semi-pucca infrastructures from the banks of the river, officials said. While visiting the project area last Friday, it was seen that despite demolition of some multi-storied buildings, there are still some infrastructures inside the project areas. Claiming to be freedom fighters, they are refusing to give in. Despite the initiative of cleaning and dredging the river to ensure fresh water and clean environment in the project area, the nearby dwellers are still dumping household wastes, including human excreta, in the river. Abandoned plastic goods, city wastes and medical wastes are also being dumped. It was also seen that the project authorities have renovated and widened four old bridges on the river so that wider vehicles could move on them. A total of 11 new bridges are being constructed over the river, of which some are unnecessary. Those are being built very close to other existing bridges. The bridges were included in the project due to some demi-official (DO) letters of an influential quarter. More than 12km of roads were reconstructed under the project along with roadside drainage system. Two km of river banks were protected. Eight km of footpath, six viewing decks, 17 outfall drains, 136 lights, an amphitheatre, or open stages, and a watch tower were constructed inside the project area. Two mind-blowing parks and water transport ghat were also established there. While viewing the project site from the watch tower, it was spectacular. The natural beauty can attract people. It can be the entertainment place for people of Kishoreganj and its surrounding places, local people told The Independent.