Padma Barrage project to be inaugurated in January-February, benefiting 7 crore people

Water Resources Minister Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie has said the Padma Barrage project will be inaugurated in January-February next year. Officials expect the project to improve agriculture, irrigation, power generation and water management in 19 districts, including those in the country’s southwest.

The minister made the announcement as chief guest at a technical discussion held during a visit to the project site in the Satbaria Kanchan Park area of Sujanagar upazila in Pabna on Sunday (25 October) afternoon.

The minister said the Padma Barrage project would benefit a large number of people, positively affecting the lives of about 7 crore people across the country, including the southwest. The mega project would cost Tk 35,000 crore in its first phase and Tk 50,000–55,000 crore in its second phase, he said.

He said people living along the river had long struggled against nature. The project was undertaken to improve their living standards and serve the national interest. The Bangladesh Water Development Board and the Ministry of Water Resources would work together to accelerate the project, he added.

Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie said former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia initiated the project in 2004. At the time, work on the Padma Barrage was expected to be completed by 2016. He said the government would take responsibility for implementing the project, overcoming major challenges in the national interest.

Hasan Mahmud, director of the project’s first phase, told the meeting that plans called for building the Padma Barrage to connect Sujanagar in Pabna with Rajbari district. The project is expected to transform socioeconomic conditions in 19 districts, including Pabna and Rajbari, he said.

He said the barrage would allow power generation for about eight months a year. The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant would also benefit from the project. All 78 gates of the barrage would remain open during the monsoon to help regulate and manage water flow.

The project director expressed hope that the project would significantly boost agricultural production, improve irrigation, generate electricity and ensure sound water resource management.

Those attending the discussion included State Minister for Water Resources Farhad Hossain Azadi; Pabna-5 MP Advocate Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas; Pabna-2 MP Advocate Selim Reza Habib; reserved women’s seat MP Arifa Sultana Ruma; Pabna Deputy Commissioner Aminul Islam; Superintendent of Police Abu Ashraf; Sujanagar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mir Rasheduzzaman; and other officials concerned.