Dhaka, June 8 -- Bangladesh's largest surface irrigation scheme, the Ganges-Kobadak (GK) Irrigation Project, has undertaken a major redesign of its pumping system to enable water withdrawal from the Padma River at lower water levels, amid concerns over dry-season flow reductions linked to upstream diversion.

Under the redesign, the project aims to reduce the minimum water level required at its intake channel from 3.9 metres to 2.5 metres, allowing pumps to remain operational even when river levels fall significantly during the lean season, Executive Engineer of the GK Project Pump House Mizanur Rahman told UNB.

The GK Project, which has a command area of 197,500 hectares and an irrigable area of about 95,500 hectares, was launched in 19...