Tk 11.22 Billion Project Approved to Restore Bogura’s Karatoa River, Ichamati and Gazaria Also in Pipeline for Rehabilitation

Mohsin Raju, from Bogura

The government has approved a Tk 1,122 crore project to bring back the flow of the Karatoya River in Bogura. The project will also beautify both banks of the river and ease traffic jams in the city. It plans to re-excavate the Karatoya, Ichamati and Gajaria rivers, protect the river banks and build a road. The Water Development Board says about 29.7 lakh people will benefit directly.

Sources at the Bogura Water Development Board say the project will re-excavate 95 kilometers of the Karatoya River. It will also repair and maintain 28 kilometers of the river. In the Bogura city area, workers will protect the slopes along six kilometers of both banks. The plan also includes a 16 kilometer long and 40 feet wide road on the east side of the river, from Matidali to Banani.

Workers will also build a six kilometer walkway along both banks, from Dattabari to Bhatkandi Bridge. The project runs from January this year to June 2030. Officials say the work will let water drain from about 450 square kilometers during the monsoon. It can also save about 2,609 hectares of low land from waterlogging.

Officials say this can raise farm and fish production. It can also create new jobs for local people. Superintending Engineer Mr. Md. Nazmul Haque of the Bogura Water Development Board said the plan is to bring back the flow of the Karatoya by re-excavating the three rivers. He said the work will help save the river and keep its water flowing normally.

Bogura 6 (Sadar) MP Mr. Rezaul Karim Badsha said he has proposed a 40 feet wide road on the east side of the Karatoya. He said it will ease traffic jams in the city and reduce the suffering of people on the move. He made this proposal a few weeks ago at a meeting on the Karatoya River System Development Project.

The Water Development Board says the Ministry of Water Resources sent the restructured Development Project Proposal (DPP) to the Planning Commission last year. A review meeting took place later that year. The government presented the project to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) earlier this year. The project won approval a few months ago. After that, the government finished the administrative approval, hired a project director and issued the government order.

The Karatoya was once one of the main branches of the Tista River. After the flood of 1988, the Tista changed its course and the river lost its main source. Later, encroachment, silting and pollution made its condition worse. Shops and buildings now stand on the banks and bed of the river in many places in Bogura city. Waste from the city also flows into the river through many drains.

Earlier, the Bangladesh Water Development Board spent Tk 47.1 crore to re-excavate the Karatoya and protect its right bank. The new project plans to restore a much longer part of the river.