Padma Bridge in Bangladesh - An Opportunity and Challenges for Char-land Livelihoods Sustainability: A Case Study on Char-Janajat in the Ganges Active Delta

Abstract

There are thousands small chars in the major rivers channels and over 12 million people are living with the fragile and under extreme hazardous environment with intensive flooding and erosion in the char-lands of Bangladesh. The Char-Janajat is one of the largest potential chars in the Ganges-Padma River channel. The Char-Janajat is situated within the territory of 4 districts (Madaripur, Faridpur, Munshiganj and Shariatpur). Moreover this char-land is very unstable land where approximately 200,000 people are tryining to survive and fighting against floods and erosion and secure livelihoods. The economy of the char lands are largely based on agriculture, fishing and livestock-rearing. The participatory approach and PRA method has been used for data collection. The proposed Padma Bridge on the Char-Janajat area is a new challenge and opportunities for the local communities to improve their socio-economy and that can ensure livelihood sustainability in the char-lands of the Ganges-Padma River basin. The objective of this study is to understand the char-lands stability and development scenarios for Char-Janajat due to Padma Bridge construction in the region. The bridge will make a connection with east and west part of the country. The erosion and vulnerability of the Char-lands in the Padma River channel will be reduced due to Padma bridge construction. The char dwellers livelihoods and socio-economic improvement will be ensured. The findings of this study could be an important guideline to make the char-land management and livelihood sustainability plan for the Ganges active delta in Bangladesh.