Environment and Water Resources Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan said on Saturday (March 22) that work will soon begin to protect about 20 km of the Teesta River's banks.

She said the Ministry of Finance had approved BDT 2.43 billion to protect 43 km of river banks in the erosion-prone area of Teesta.

However, riverbank protection work on the 20 km banks of the river Teesta will begin this year, and work on the 23 km banks will also start quickly.

The Water Resources Adviser said this while addressing a discussion on Reform in the Water Sector. The Ministry of Water Resources arranged the meeting at Pani Bhaban's conference room at Green Road in Dhaka on the occasion of World Water Day.

Adviser Rizwana Hasan said the local offices of the Bangladesh Water Development Board have been instructed to keep enough Geo bags and blocks ready to work on an emergency basis.

In the context of the Teesta mega plan, the adviser said the period of Feasibility Study on the Teesta Mega Plan has been extended to two years on two conditions.

She said Power China will visit the people living on the banks of Teesta and discuss their plans, adding that it will also talk to those who work on the river.

Adviser Rizwana said public hearings were held in five districts, and expert-level talks will now be held.

She added that an expert team will also come from China to discuss the issue.

Water Resources Secretary Nazmul Ahsan presided over the meeting. Among others, the Director General of the Water Development Board, AKM Tahmidul Islam; the Director General of Bangladesh Wetland and Haor Department, Md. Akhteruzzaman; and the Executive Director of the Institute of Water Modelling, SM Mahbubur Rahman, also spoke on the occasion.