The Sylhet City Corporation authorities formally started reclaiming and re-digging an encroached canal on Wednesday to reduce the water-stagnation problem in the city.
The city mayor, Ariful Haque Chowdhury, inaugurated the renovation work of Gavial Khal, one of the nine major canals of the city that covers three wards, on the city’s Nabab Road in the morning, the city corporation officials said.
The mayor also sought all-out cooperation of the local residents to complete reclaiming the grabbed land and re-dredging the Gavial Khal before the next summer.
He said sincere cooperation of the local people was necessary as the corporation authorities demarcated the canal land, most of which had been in possession of land grabbers.
‘I am hopeful that it will be possible to restore all the canals to their previous state, if the city dwellers would continue their support to the corporation authorities,’ the SCC mayor said.
The city corporation’s ward 10 councillor Saleh Ahmad Chowdhury, ward 11 councillor Rakibul Islam Jhalak and ward 12 councillor Sikandar Ali and SCC chief engineer Nur Azizur Rahman, among others, were present in the canal renovation inaugurating programme, the SCC officials said.
The SCC chief engineer, Nur Azizur Rahman, said the city canal re-dredging work had been launched under a short-term development project.
‘The United Nations Development Project has funded around Tk 8 crore to implement the scheme,’ he added.
There are nine major canals in the city,
including Dhubri Chhara, Goali Chhara, Malni Chhara, Gavial Khal, Mangli Chhara, Kewa Chhara, Baruthkhana Chhara, Boita Chhara and Ratna Khal.
These canals are connected with the River Surma from different parts of the city that maintains the sewerage system in the city, the city corporation authorities said.
-With New Age input
