It is really very sad that the Tk 110-crore Narsunda river restoration project in Kishoreganj has become very difficult because of non-cooperation from the encroachers who have occupied a 3.5 stretch of the river. According to a report published in this newspaper yesterday, the local administration, politicians and inhabitants of nearby places of the Narsunda are not cooperating with the project officials who are doubtful whether they could wind up the project within the last four months by December.
This LGED’s project "Rehabilitation of Narsunda River and Improvement of Surrounding Areas of Kishoreganj Paurasabha", according to experts, ultimately will not bear fruit unless the river can be linked with the Old Brahmaputra at the Kawna embankment in Hossainpur.
Now since the project is still being implemented, the relevant government entities including the LGED should take a tougher stance to evict the encroachers. Many multi-storied buildings that were erected on the Narsunda have already been demolished and the river surrounding Kishoreganj Pourasova has been dredged and around 95 per cent of the physical cons­truction and rehabilitation work has been completed. Most river encroachers in our country are influential people of society who now think that they can own whatever they want to because of lackadaisical attitude of the government towards these influential law enforcers. It is time to teach them a lesson or two that cannot any more get away with grabbing precious rivers of the country making them dry and clogged. The water resources ministry must decisively launch a battle against the powerful quarters and bring back the encroached rivers all over the country, not just the Narasunda of Kishoreganj.
Due to many a reason, crucially important projects in Bangladesh could not be completed within the stipulated time. As a result, the cost of the project goes up. The Narsunda river restoration project is no exception either. The time limit of the project so far has been extended twice, and it is now three and a half years on, the authorities have still to dredge 3.5 km long encroached bed of Narasunda. Initially, the cost of the project was estimated at Tk. 63 crore but the revised budget of the project stands at Tk. 109.19-crore. To complete the project within December, project officials can take help of law enforcers to stop the people who are creating obstacles on the way of implementation of the project. Even those who are claiming to be freedom fighters but are trying to subvert the project’s work should be heavily dealt with.