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LALMONIRHAT: The formal inauguration of work on the Teesta mega plan is expected in November next year, State Minister for Water Resources Farhad Hossain Azad has said.
“Technical-level discussions have been held with the neighbouring country over the Teesta issue. A high-powered technical committee comprising river experts is working on the matter,” he said.
The state minister made the remarks while speaking to journalists after inspecting the Mohendranagar drainage canal in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila on Thursday morning.
He said the feasibility study for the project was also nearing completion and progress on its approval would be made after the finance minister returned to the country.
Experts from the Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS), the River Commission and the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), along with specialists from China, the Netherlands and Malaysia, were being consulted to ensure proper implementation of the plan, he said.
A comprehensive Development Project Proposal (DPP) would be prepared by incorporating recommendations from all parties, he added.
The state minister said preparing the DPP could take another eight to nine months to determine the most effective approach to maximising benefits for local communities.
“Once implemented, the Teesta mega plan will ease the long-standing suffering of people in the northern region,” he said, adding that nearly 30 million people in Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Nilphamari and Rangpur would benefit from the project.
Regarding the excavation of the Mohendranagar drainage canal, Farhad Hossain Azad said the prime minister would inaugurate the canal on 19 November.
The canal would directly provide irrigation facilities to several thousand people in the area, he said, adding that trees would be planted along both sides of the canal to create new development opportunities.
Lalmonirhat Deputy Commissioner Muh Rashedul Haque Pradhan, Superintendent of Police Asaduzzaman, District Council Administrator AKM Mominul Haque, Water Development Board Executive Officer Sunil Kumar, Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mononita Das, local administration officials and BNP leaders were present during the visit.