Govt to set up cross dam to connect Urirchar to mainland

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SANGSAD BHABAN, Feb 25, 2019 (BSS) – The government will construct the Urirchar-Noakhali cross dam to connect Urirchar island to the mainland of the country.

“The Taka 560.68 crore Urirchar-Noakhali Cross Dam Project is under process of the Planning Commission aiming to connect Urirchar to the country’s mainland,” State Minister for Water Resources Zahid Faruque said today while responding to a starred question placed by lawmaker Mahfuzur Rahman of Chattogram-3 in the parliament with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair.

He said once the dam project is approved, it would be possible to reclaim 10,000 hectares of land from the sea by constructing two kilometers of cross dam and six kilimetres of embankment on the both side.

The state minister said the government has been implementing the Char Development and Settlement Project (CDSP) since 1994 to cut poverty of the people living in chars surfaced in the sea and improve the lifestyle of locals by building climate-resilient infrastructures.

Noting that the CDSP-4 was completed in December 2018, he said the development project proposal of the about Taka 264 crore CDSP bridging project (2019-2021) has already been formulated to continue the CDSP project.

After completing feasibility study in this regard, Zahid said various development initiatives, including construction of embankment surrounding Urirchar, will be taken to reclaim land from the Bay of Bengal.