No new roads, only elevated way in Haor region

With flash floods devastating croplands in the northeast, the government has abandoned plans to build more roads in the Haor wetlands to ensure that water can flow uninterrupted through the region, report agencies.
The decision was made at a Cabinet meeting on Monday presided over by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
"The prime minister instructed the authorities to study the feasibility of building bridges every half kilometre along the existing road so that water can flow uninterrupted under the bridge," said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam while briefing journalists at the Secretariat after the meeting.
The Cabinet also approved the draft of Production, Storage, Movement, Transportation, Supply, Distribution and Marketing of Food grains (Prevention of Prejudicial Activity) Act, 2022 providing for punishment for offenses in any stage of the food supply chain.
The Haor region is frequently affected by floods due to the hilly topography and steep slope of the rivers draining the area. These flash floods spill onto low-lying flood plain lands in the region, damaging crops, infrastructure, livestock and property.
According to Anwarul, Hasina also said that if it was necessary to build more roads in the region they must be elevated to ensure water is not obstructed.
"The cabinet has decided to build elevated roads not only in the Haor region but also in all low-lying lands in the country," he said.
"Particular instructions were sent out to the Roads and Highways Division to study whether the Itna-Mithamoin-Austagram Road in Kishoreganj has any effect on the water flow and the downstream flow from Sylhet," said the cabinet secretary.
Hasina inaugurated the 29.73 km-long Itna-Mithamoin-Austagram all-weather road on Oct 8, 2020. She had called the road a gift on behalf of President Abdul Hamid during the Mujib Year.
The road, connecting three Kishoreganj Upazilas - Itna, Mithamoin, and Austagram - goes straight through the midst of the vast Haor area in parallel with the Dhanu and Baulai rivers, starting at Itna Upazila Sadar and running through to Austagram via Mithamoin Upazila.
Floods in early April destroyed paddy on around 6,500 hectares of land in the region, according to the government.
Farmlands in Sylhet, Kishoreganj and Netrakona suffered heavy damage due to the flooding. The condition of the region does not support cultivation in any other season, therefore many farmers will lose everything if more flooding were to strike.
Farmers in the region claim irregularities in building and maintaining dams led to the situation.
Two large dams in Sunamganj, one in Gurmar Haor and the other in Horamondira Haor, were breached due to flooding in the past two days, threatening crops on a vast swathe of land.
5-yr jail for food related offense: Cabinet clears draft law Meanwhile, the proposed law on food was brought by merging two existing laws -- Foodgrains Supply (Prevention of Prejudicial Activity) Ordinance, 1979 and the Food (Special Courts) Act, 1956 with a view to ensure quality food items.
"If anyone commits an offense under the proposed law, the person would be awarded maximum five-year jail or highest Tk 1.0 million as fine," said Anwarul Islam.
The cabinet secretary said tougher punishment has been proposed in the draft law to prevent offenses and misleading information in the stages of production, Storage, Movement, Transportation, Supply, Distribution and Marketing of food grains.
Besides, the draft of Attia Forest (Protection) Act, 2022 was placed in the meeting, but the Cabinet directed the authorities concerned to bring it again after conducting a digital survey over its lands.
The Cabinet earlier approved in principle the proposed law on October 28, 2021.
The digital survey is essential as the nature of its lands changed in different areas. Otherwise, it would create problems, said the cabinet secretary.
The meeting was informed that the digital survey could be completed within 3-4 months after getting approval of the purchase committee, he said.
Anwarul Islam said the land comprising of some 59,000 acres in Tangail and Dhaka districts was first declared as reserved forest through a law in 1928. Since the law lost its effectiveness, the Attia Forest (Protection) Ordinance, 1982 was promulgated during the military regime.