River valley development in Bangladesh
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Nehal Adil
BANGLADESH is a riverine country. Its vast delta region has been formed only in recent times - in the geological perspective. Its still an active delta. The landmass that comprises Bangladesh had a land area of fifty-four thousand square miles in 1947 and now the area has increased to fifty-six and a half thousand square miles. The alluvial deposits from the world's two big river systems, the Ganges and Brahmaputra, have made it possible. If we plan land reclamation from the sea, it is estimated that we can reclaim thirty-five thousand square miles.
Nijhum Dwip is bigger than the Pacific island state of Tuvalu whose Prime Minister played such a vocal role in the climate conference in Copenhagen along with our Prime Minister. But what is of far more importance to us at the moment is the chars or river valley islands which, according to some estimates, constitute five thousand square miles on the Padma Jamuna, Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers.
A char is a sandy landmass which occasionally vanishes in river erosion. Nearly ten million people are victims of this phenomenon. Our city slums are full of people from affected river islands. Just look into the population of Dhaka city's slum dwellers -- most of them come from Nilphamari, Gaibandha, Sirajganj, Jamalpur, Tangail, Manikganj, Munshiganj, Bhola, Lakhmipur, Chandpur, Bhairab and other river valley districts.
We are now planning river dredging, that will make the river currents flow in deeper channels, and proper embankments, that will control erosion. The Scandinavians applied this technique in the 16th century. They call it earth engineering. But the technique of making sandy desert land fertile was first developed by Israel. It applied it in the desert of Nezev where it now produces some of the world's best fruits which they export even to Europe. Some Arab countries like Qatar have developed their own desert reclamation technique. Qatar has a land area of only eight thousand square miles -- nearly as big as our river valley area.
I was told our rice researchers have developed a variety of paddy that can be cultivated in arid land. They call it 'manga' paddy. The foreign office is reported to have been negotiating with some West African sub Saharan desert countries to lease land to grow this variety of paddy there. If we invest that amount of money in our own country to develop the char and haor lands, food production could be doubled, I was told.
Technology alone does not solve a problem, it is the application of technology which is more vital. To develop the river valleys we need a massive plan. First, we should mobilise the avilable manpower for dredging land and making dykes. The inhabitants of the char lands, who have been forced to move out to urban slums, should be brought back in resettlement villages and they should be mobilised to build dykes. It is not impossible to get a million-strong workforce to carry out the plan.
Without resources we cannot build Sonar Bangla with only dreams. Land and manpower are the greatest resources. We have manpower but we need land. River valley development could lead us in that direction. Our river valleys can be used to grow cotton which grows in sandy land. Our apparel industry needs clotton which we import from abroad at high prices. Maze or corn could be produced to develop our livestock industry. But most important, we could rehabilitate millions who have been uprooted by river erosion, and bring back peace and prosperity to our urban centres which have been affected by slums and crimes. Our green river valleys could turn into great tourist attractions too.
Our Prime Minister recently visited Qatar. We were told that this economically resourceful country has promised to help us in the development of our natural and human resources. I think it is a good offer. Why can't we utilise it in river valley development?
BANGLADESH is a riverine country. Its vast delta region has been formed only in recent times - in the geological perspective. Its still an active delta. The landmass that comprises Bangladesh had a land area of fifty-four thousand square miles in 1947 and now the area has increased to fifty-six and a half thousand square miles. The alluvial deposits from the world's two big river systems, the Ganges and Brahmaputra, have made it possible. If we plan land reclamation from the sea, it is estimated that we can reclaim thirty-five thousand square miles.
Nijhum Dwip is bigger than the Pacific island state of Tuvalu whose Prime Minister played such a vocal role in the climate conference in Copenhagen along with our Prime Minister. But what is of far more importance to us at the moment is the chars or river valley islands which, according to some estimates, constitute five thousand square miles on the Padma Jamuna, Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers.
A char is a sandy landmass which occasionally vanishes in river erosion. Nearly ten million people are victims of this phenomenon. Our city slums are full of people from affected river islands. Just look into the population of Dhaka city's slum dwellers -- most of them come from Nilphamari, Gaibandha, Sirajganj, Jamalpur, Tangail, Manikganj, Munshiganj, Bhola, Lakhmipur, Chandpur, Bhairab and other river valley districts.
We are now planning river dredging, that will make the river currents flow in deeper channels, and proper embankments, that will control erosion. The Scandinavians applied this technique in the 16th century. They call it earth engineering. But the technique of making sandy desert land fertile was first developed by Israel. It applied it in the desert of Nezev where it now produces some of the world's best fruits which they export even to Europe. Some Arab countries like Qatar have developed their own desert reclamation technique. Qatar has a land area of only eight thousand square miles -- nearly as big as our river valley area.
I was told our rice researchers have developed a variety of paddy that can be cultivated in arid land. They call it 'manga' paddy. The foreign office is reported to have been negotiating with some West African sub Saharan desert countries to lease land to grow this variety of paddy there. If we invest that amount of money in our own country to develop the char and haor lands, food production could be doubled, I was told.
Technology alone does not solve a problem, it is the application of technology which is more vital. To develop the river valleys we need a massive plan. First, we should mobilise the avilable manpower for dredging land and making dykes. The inhabitants of the char lands, who have been forced to move out to urban slums, should be brought back in resettlement villages and they should be mobilised to build dykes. It is not impossible to get a million-strong workforce to carry out the plan.
Without resources we cannot build Sonar Bangla with only dreams. Land and manpower are the greatest resources. We have manpower but we need land. River valley development could lead us in that direction. Our river valleys can be used to grow cotton which grows in sandy land. Our apparel industry needs clotton which we import from abroad at high prices. Maze or corn could be produced to develop our livestock industry. But most important, we could rehabilitate millions who have been uprooted by river erosion, and bring back peace and prosperity to our urban centres which have been affected by slums and crimes. Our green river valleys could turn into great tourist attractions too.
Our Prime Minister recently visited Qatar. We were told that this economically resourceful country has promised to help us in the development of our natural and human resources. I think it is a good offer. Why can't we utilise it in river valley development?