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KHULNA, Apr 29, 2026 (BSS) – Two major proposals aimed at addressing long-standing water crises in Khulna’s coastal areas will be placed at the upcoming Deputy Commissioners’ (DC) Conference scheduled to be held in Dhaka from May 3 to 6.

The proposals include ensuring fresh water supply in Paikgachha upazila and resolving permanent waterlogging in 27 beels, including the flood-prone Beel Dakatia area.

Newly appointed Khulna Deputy Commissioner Hoore Jannat will represent the district at the conference, the first DC Conference under the current government. She joined office on April 2 this year. Assistant Commissioner Nafis Al Mahadi confirmed the matter today.

According to sources at the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), severe water logging occurs in the Beel Dakatia region during the monsoon every year, causing extensive damage to agriculture and fisheries.

The worst-affected unions in Dumuria upazila include Dhamalia, Raghunathpur, Rudaghara, Khornia, Atlia, Maguraghona, Shovna, Sharafpur, Sahos, Bhandarpara, Dumuria Sadar, Rangpur, Gutudia and Magurkhali.

The recurring waterlogging damages crops worth around Taka 160 crore annually, washes away hundreds of bighas of shrimp and fish enclosures and destroys seasonal vegetable cultivation, BWDB officials said.

The issue of Beel Dakatia has long remained a major public concern in the region. 

During the last parliamentary election campaign, BNP candidate Ali Asgar Lobby and Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Mia Golam Parwar also pledged to solve the problem.

Talking to BSS, Paikgachha UNO Wasiuzzaman Chowdhury said acute scarcity of drinking water prevails in several unions of the upazila during the dry season.

Among the 10 unions of the upazila, residents of Goraikhali, Soladana, Laskar, Deluti and Chandkhali suffer most from the crisis, he said.

Of the upazila’s around 2,80,000 population, nearly half face shortage of safe drinking water and depend on rainwater preserved during the monsoon for year-round consumption, he added.

The UNO stressed the need for undertaking sustainable water supply projects in the affected areas.

Sources said at the last DC Conference held on March 3-6 in 2024, the then Khulna Deputy Commissioner Khandaker Yasir Arefin raised concerns over navigability crises in several rivers, including the Shibsa, Bhairab, Hariya, Gunakhali, Korolia, Shailmari, Hamkura, Hari Bhadra and Kajibacha rivers.

He also highlighted siltation in the Atrai, Bhairab and Rupsha rivers, which has hampered water transport, narrowed fish habitats and intensified illegal encroachment and water logging.