Expatriates Welfare Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury inaugurated the excavation of the Barni Sabri canal in Companiganj upazila of Sylhet on Monday, April 20, 2026. The project, under the Employment Generation Program for the Poorest (EGP), covers a 1.5-kilometer stretch that will connect to the Gile Katagang canal. The excavation will employ 214 laborers for 43 days, each earning a daily wage of Tk 500, alongside the use of excavator machines.

The total cost of the project is approximately Tk 9.3 million, with half of the budget allocated for wages of the ultra-poor workers. Local administrative and political representatives, including the Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mohammad Robin Mia, Assistant Commissioner (Land) Palash Talukdar, and several BNP leaders, were present at the inauguration ceremony.

The initiative aims to improve local water management and create temporary employment opportunities for low-income residents under the government’s poverty alleviation program.