With a spade striking the dry bed of a fading canal in Dinajpur on Monday, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman launched a nationwide canal re-excavation drive, reviving a scene many villagers say they had last witnessed nearly five decades ago under his father, late president Ziaur Rahman.
At around 12:27pm, Tarique Rahman stepped onto the cracked soil of the Sahapara canal at Balarampur Sahapara in Kaharol of Dinajpur and dug out the first spadeful of earth, formally inaugurating the programme that will trigger similar excavation works across the country.
For many in the crowd, the moment felt familiar.
Villagers recalled how, in 1977, Ziaur Rahman had stood on the bank of the same canal and joined hundreds of locals in digging soil with a spade as part of a voluntary effort to revive rural waterways.
As ministers and BNP leaders watched on Monday, Tarique repeated the gesture, bending down to dig into the canal bed himself.
Thousands of residents gathered around the site, some climbing onto nearby mounds of soil while others stood along narrow roads to catch a glimpse of the prime minister at work.
“Just like his father, he is taking part in canal digging,” said 65-year-old Halima Khatun of Balarampur village. “President Ziaur Rahman used to join canal excavation with ordinary people through voluntary work.”
The Sahapara canal, which stretches nearly 12 kilometres through Ramchandrapur union of Kaharol upazila, today bears little resemblance to the waterway it once was. Large sections have dried up over the years, leaving uneven piles of soil where water once flowed.
During the monsoon, the limited water flow often causes severe waterlogging in nearby villages.
Local resident Amjad Hossain said the deteriorating canal has long been a source of suffering.
“Our situation has not been good. The condition of the canal has been a major problem for us,” he said. “Now Tarique Rahman has come here like his father to re-excavate it. If the canal is restored this time, our suffering may finally end.”
The canal is connected to the Punarbhaba River, one of Dinajpur’s major rivers that enters Bangladesh from India’s West Bengal through Thakurgaon before flowing across the district.
The prime minister’s visit turned the usually quiet rural road into a spectacle of anticipation. From early morning, villagers, including children and women, lined both sides of the narrow road as his motorcade travelled roughly 12-13 kilometres to reach the excavation site.
Some waved enthusiastically as Tarique Rahman greeted people from a bus during the journey.
Speaking to journalists before the inauguration, Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs Minister and Dinajpur-6 MP Professor AZM Zahid Hossain said the canal was originally excavated in 1977 under Ziaur Rahman with the participation of local villagers and party activists.
He said the renewed project could transform the local economy.
According to officials, once the 12.2-kilometre canal is fully restored, about 31,000 farmers will benefit directly, while nearly 3,50,000 people in the surrounding areas are expected to gain from improved drainage and irrigation.
The re-excavation is expected to ease waterlogging during the monsoon, boost crop production and open opportunities for fish farming, duck rearing and tree plantation along the canal banks.
“The project will help maintain environmental balance and increase agricultural production,” Zahid Hossain said.
By midday, the excavation ground had turned into a gathering point for both politics and memory. BNP leaders and activists arrived in small processions, while curious villagers crowded around the site to witness the start of the work.
Ramchandrapur Union BNP General Secretary Anwarul Islam said the canal’s revival could bring relief to thousands of families.
“During the monsoon, water enters houses, and low-lying croplands go underwater,” he said. “If the Sahapara canal is restored properly, it will greatly benefit the entire area.”
Source: UNB