Disaster Management and Relief Minister Asadul Habib Dulu announced that around 20,000 kilometers of rivers, canals, and reservoirs will be excavated across Bangladesh over the next five years. He made the statement while inaugurating the re-excavation of a canal from Daser Hat Chhara to the Assistant Commissioner’s connection point in Holokhana Union of Kurigram. The minister said the initiative could bring a revolutionary change in the country’s water management system.

He recalled that former President Ziaur Rahman had launched a canal excavation program in 1977 to boost agricultural production and expand irrigation facilities, which had enabled Bangladesh to export rice for the first time. The current program, revived by the BNP, aims to fulfill that earlier vision. According to the minister, the project will enhance agricultural productivity through modern irrigation, create opportunities for fish farming and duck rearing, and help control floods and waterlogging.

The excavation initiative is being implemented under the Employment Generation Program for the Poorest (EGPP) allocation, with local officials, political leaders, and residents attending the inauguration ceremony.