, Feb. 1 -- For generations, the Surma and Kushiyara rivers have shaped life in Sylhet and Habiganj-nurturing fertile floodplains while also unleashing destruction with alarming regularity.

Each monsoon, swollen waters spill over Surma and Kushiyara banks, washing away cropland, homes and roads, and forcing thousands into cycles of loss and recovery.

In a bid to break that cycle, the government has taken up a Tk 1,273.77 crore project aimed at strengthening flood protection, stabilising riverbanks and introducing integrated water resources management in Surma-Kushiyara river basin.

The project-titled Surma-Kushiyara River Basin Development and Flood and Integrated Water Resources Management Project (Phase I)-will be implemented by the ...