BSS :
Seventy percent works of the project to protect rivers surrounding the capital Dhaka was completed to return life to the rivers including Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Shitalakkhya as construction of three eco-parks and 25km walkway has already been completed.
The rest of the work will be completed by June 2024, the project officials said.
Among the 7,500 permanent border pillars covering an area of 220 kilometers on both banks of the rivers surrounding the capital, about 5,500 pillars have already been installed while 25 km of the 52 km walkway is now visible.
Installation of pillars on the banks of Buriganga, Turag, Shitalakshya and Balu rivers, protection of banks, construction of ancillary infrastructure including walkways and jetties (Phase-2) (1st Revised) project director Abu Zafar Mohammad Shahnewaz Kabir spoke to BSS about the project.
He said that since the beginning of the second phase of the project in July 2018, as many as 11,000 illegal structures of river encroachers were demolished in 2019 and 2020 and about 350 acres of occupied land were recovered.
The work of implementation of river bank protection project with about Taka 1181.10 crore is underway for sustainable river protection, he said.
Of the 52 km walkway, key-wall will be 10km, walk on pile or pillar shape will be about 18 km to keep free flow of water in the low-lying areas around Dhaka and the remaining 24 km will be slope shape, he said.
