Gorai River Canal Suffers from Non-Existence; Agriculture and Environment Under Threat
The Gorai River Canal, which is 8.5 kilometers long and 20-25 meters wide, was dug nearly seventy years ago to alleviate waterlogging in Kushtia Sadar and Mirpur Upazilas and improve local waterways. Now, it is nearly nonexistent.
It is claimed that the government department has encroached on the canal by prioritizing development without following River Commission rules.
In 2018, the Kushtia Municipal Authority took over this canal from the Bangladesh Water Development Board for development. An official from the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) is using government funds to fill the canal’s main flow channel with soil and build several culverts and roads. LGED has confirmed that the construction of the bridge culverts was carried out in collaboration with BWDB. BWDB’s executive engineer refuted LGED’s claim, stating that LGED constructed the culverts without the necessary NOC and in violation of regulations.
The 8.5-kilometer Gorai Canal starts at Mangalbaria in Kushtia Sadar Upazila on the right bank of the Gorai River, according to BWDB sources. The canal flows through Kamalapur, Mangalbaria Bazar, Udibari, Baradi, Udibari Colony, Choudharhas Mandirpara, Chechua, Fulbaria, Jagati, and reaches Minapara. Its condition has worsened due to road construction and 15 culverts built by the Road Division and LGED, which have blocked the main channel, violating the River and Canal Protection Act.
Aruk Hossain, a local resident of Kamalapur area, complained, “Talking about development, I now see that the banks of the canal are being filled with soil and occupied.”
The canal, originally 60-70 feet wide, has now shrunk to 25-30 feet due to accumulation on both sides, which causes garbage buildup since it has not been renovated.
Halim Sheikh, a farmer from Fulbaria village in Sadar Upazila, said, “The canal is being filled and blocked, and in some areas it’s nearly unrecognizable.”
Due to the negligence of the Water Development Board, water is no longer drained through this canal. That is why our fields remain submerged for more than a year. Since there is no cultivation, this field is now also being lost to houses.”
Khalilur Rahman Moju, president of the Nadi Paribrajak Dal Kushtia, stated that the canal should not be blocked by building bridges or filling it in under the guise of development. No work can be done within the boundaries of the canal or river that obstructs the main flow or channel.
In 2018, municipal authorities received a no-objection letter from BWDB to renovate the Gorai Canal in Kushtia. Kushtia Municipality Executive Engineer Rabiul Islam acknowledged, “There was a failure to take necessary measures to protect the canal.”
However, Abdur Razzak, Executive Engineer of the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) Kushtia, rejected the allegations that the canal was encroached upon due to shortsightedness, negligence, and the implementation of unplanned development projects.
He claimed that all the bridges and culverts that have been built on that canal have been built with the no-objection of the Water Development Board.’
Rashidur Rahman, an Executive Engineer at the Bangladesh Water Development Board, stated that they grant no-objection for development projects from other government agencies, provided certain conditions are met, such as preserving the original infrastructure.
LGED did not obtain any NOC from us for the construction of bridge culverts over the Gorai Canal in the Kamalapur and Mangalbaria areas of Kushtia municipality.
