Bangladesh Plans Major River, Canal Restoration Drive

For Bangladesh, a delta defined by water, managing its resources has always been a delicate balancing act—containing destructive monsoon floods while ensuring adequate freshwater for agriculture, fisheries and ecosystems during the dry season.

The government is implementing a range of projects to strengthen water resources management, including river restoration, flood protection, irrigation, drainage improvement, salinity control and waterlogging mitigation, according to a budget document.

The Ministry of Water Resources plans to excavate and re-excavate 680 kilometres of canals, irrigation canals and drainage channels in fiscal 2026-27 as part of a broader initiative to excavate 20,000 kilometres of canals, rivers and drainage channels over the next five years.

Special initiatives have also been taken to restore at least one river in each division and free it from encroachment to help maintain ecological balance.

Under seven projects, measures are being implemented to remove illegal encroachments and restore the natural flow of the Dhaleshwari, Louhajang, Alaikuri, Mogra, Salta, Sutang, Bakkhali and Barnai rivers.

The ministry has also developed a Water Quality Index for rivers surrounding Dhaka.

A real-time dashboard for monitoring groundwater levels has been developed using artificial intelligence and deep-learning technologies, creating a digital system to track groundwater resources, according to the budget document.

Under the project titled “Identification and Classification of Canals in Bangladesh and Development of a Geo-Informatics Database”, canals across the country will be identified and a GIS-based canal network will be developed.

Flood Protection and River Management

For flood protection, the government has set targets for FY2026-27 to construct, reconstruct and rehabilitate 309 kilometres of embankments and flood walls and improve river navigability by removing submerged shoals along 484 kilometres of waterways.

Meanwhile, construction, reconstruction and rehabilitation of 292 kilometres of embankments and flood walls are underway under the government’s 180-Day Programme for Flood Protection.

The budget document said obstructions to water flows caused by upstream dams on the Teesta and Padma rivers have adversely affected agriculture, irrigation, fisheries and biodiversity in their respective basins in Bangladesh.

Against this backdrop, the government has approved the Padma Barrage (Phase-I) project at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).

The project will be implemented from July 2026 to June 2033 and includes construction of a 2.1-kilometre main barrage and a hydropower plant on the Padma River at Pangsha in Rajbari.

The project is intended to conserve and regulate Padma River water and restore freshwater flows during the dry season, with the stated objectives of increasing agricultural production, maintaining navigability and preserving ecological balance.

According to the budget document, the project is expected to enable annual storage of 2,900 million cubic metres of water and help prevent salinity intrusion in the Padma basin, including the Sundarbans, by restoring navigability in five distributaries and tributaries.

It is also expected to provide irrigation to 2.88 million hectares of land and support uninterrupted agricultural production.

The project has projected annual increases of 20.39 million tonnes in rice production and 2.34 million tonnes in fish production.

The government estimates that the project will directly and indirectly benefit people in 120 upazilas across 19 districts in four divisions, representing around 37 percent of the country’s population.

The government is also taking initiatives to implement the Comprehensive Management and Restoration of the Teesta River Project, commonly known as the Teesta Master Plan, to improve the livelihoods and living conditions of people in northern Bangladesh.