Posted on October 27, 2025
The Engineering Core of Bangladesh Army started dredging of 81.5 kilometers of five rivers at the southern part of Jessore district on Friday to solve the long-standing Bhabodah waterlogging problem.
The dredging project, aimed at restoring navigability and reducing permanent waterlogging, officially began under the supervision of the Bangladesh Army’s 24th Engineering Construction Brigade. The initiative covers the re-excavation of five rivers in Jessore and Khulna regions — the Teka (7 km), Shree (1 km), Harihar (35 km), Aparbhadra (18.5 km), and Hari-Teligati (20 km) — totalling 81.5 kilometres.
The dredging work was inaugurated on Friday at the 21st vent Bhabadaha sluice gate point, with an estimated cost of Tk140 crore. Jessore Deputy Commissioner Md Azaharul Islam attended the event as the chief guest. The ceremony was also addressed by project director Lt Col Mamunur Rashid of the Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) project director BM Abdul Momen, project officer Major Gazi Nazmul Hasan, BWDB Jessore executive engineer Palash Kumar Banerjee, Monirampur UNO Nishat Tamanna, and Abhaynagar UNO Sheikh Salauddin Tipu, among others.
Speakers at the event said that the interim government had taken special measures to end Bhabadaha’s chronic waterlogging. The Bangladesh Army and the BWDB will jointly implement, monitor, and oversee the project’s progress. Once completed, the dredging is expected to bring a major turnaround in the region’s water management and restore normal life to thousands of residents.
Ranjit Bawali, convener of the Bhabadaha Water Drainage Struggle Committee, said: “People are now hopeful because the dredging is finally being carried out under army supervision.”
BWDB executive engineer Palash Kumar Banerjee added that the dredging work in the Bhabadaha area had officially started on Friday. “Once work on the Teka-Harihar river system begins, the suffering of Bhabadaha’s residents will begin to ease,” he said, noting that a separate project to remove accumulated silt is also being planned.
The history of Bhabadaha’s waterlogging dates back to the 1960s, when the Water Development Board built a 21-vent sluice gate at Hari River in Bhabadaha to block saline tidal flow from the sea. The move initially boosted crop yields by preventing saltwater intrusion. However, within two decades, heavy siltation downstream raised riverbeds, preventing monsoon water from draining out even when the gates were opened. By the 1980s, vast areas across five upazilas in Jessore and Khulna were permanently flooded, submerging homes and roads.
Over the years, several dredging and pumping efforts have been undertaken, but none have brought lasting results, as silt continued to accumulate. Attempts to drain floodwater through connecting canals and additional sluice gates offered only partial relief.
Following recent political changes, the government renewed its focus on Bhabadaha’s waterlogging crisis.
Adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest, Climate Change and Water Resources, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, visited the area twice with senior officials, promising a permanent solution. As part of that commitment, on September 23 a memorandum of understanding was signed between the BWDB and the Army’s 24 Engineering Construction Brigade to jointly undertake the dredging of Bhabadaha’s five rivers — marking a new phase in the long fight to reclaim the region from waterlogging.
