The Teesta Barrage master plan will be implemented at any cost, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has said. Calling the plan a national priority, he said: “This project will be implemented at any cost to ensure the country’s water security, support agriculture and improve the lives and livelihoods of people in the north.”
The prime minister made the remarks on Monday afternoon while taking part in the general discussion on the proposed 2026-27 budget in the National Parliament.
Tarique Rahman said: “The government is committed to solving the country’s long-standing water-management problems through major investment in rivers, canals and irrigation infrastructure. Water is one of the biggest concerns for people in the Rajshahi and Rangpur regions in particular. Members of parliament regularly raise various problems concerning the Padma and Teesta rivers. We are working all out to solve them.”
Describing year-round water availability for agriculture as one of the government’s main goals, the prime minister said: “To this end the government has already taken steps to build the Padma Barrage. Excess water will be stored during the monsoon and used in agriculture and other sectors in the dry season.”
He added: “The Padma Barrage will store excess monsoon water so that it can be supplied to agriculture and other essential sectors throughout the dry season and the rest of the year.”
“Bangladesh has long suffered from a lack of integrated river management, water conservation, flood control and inter-river connectivity. As a result, many rivers have lost navigability and irrigation and water shortages have arisen in various areas,” the prime minister added.
He said: “I have visited areas where, although water surrounds everything during the monsoon, farmers only a short distance away cannot irrigate their land for lack of water. To solve this, a nationwide programme of river and canal excavation and re-excavation has begun.”
Noting that the government plans to excavate and re-excavate 20,000 kilometres of canals over the next five years, the head of government said: “A canal-excavation programme is under way to improve water flow, irrigation and flood management. In the past three months, about 900 kilometres of canals have been excavated or re-excavated.”
Highlighting government support for farmers, the prime minister said: “One of the government’s first decisions after taking office was to waive agricultural loans of up to Tk 10,000 and their interest. About 13 lakh farmers benefited.”
Noting that the government had introduced a special farmer card to provide direct support, he said: “In the 2026-27 fiscal year, about 43 lakh farmers will receive financial support and at least 10 additional services through this card. We promised to stand by farmers, and we are keeping that promise.”
Highlighting various government initiatives on youth employment, skills development and overseas jobs, the prime minister said: “The government is working to send skilled manpower abroad and to expand services for expatriate Bangladeshis.”
As part of this, a “Probashi (Expatriate) Card” had been introduced to make various services more accessible to expatriates and ease their difficulties abroad, he said. Stressing energy security, he said: “An uninterrupted energy supply is crucial not only for economic growth but also for national security.”
Noting that the country’s energy sector had been damaged by long-standing corruption, poor planning and neglect, the prime minister said domestic gas exploration had been neglected and excessive dependence on foreign companies created. “The present government is now focusing on diversifying energy sources, domestic gas exploration, renewable energy and greater energy efficiency to reduce import dependence,” he said.
Referring to the recent crisis in the Middle East, the prime minister said: “This situation has again proved how risky an import-dependent energy system is. The government’s larger goal is to build a strong and resilient economy that supports Bangladesh’s long-term development goals.”
On education, Tarique Rahman said an educated population with moral values was the country’s greatest asset, but the education system had been deliberately weakened under the previous administration. Extensive reform was needed in the education sector to prepare future generations to meet the challenges of the times.
Earlier, the parliamentary session began at 10:30am under the chairmanship of Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed. In the budget session, opposition leader Shafiqur Rahman spoke first, followed by the leader of the house, the prime minister.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report