LGED's PROBATI Project : Lives, livelihoods in Teesta basin see major changes
The Local Government Engineering Department's (LGED) "PROBATI" project is playing a key role in improving living standards, generating employment, and constructing disaster-resilient infrastructure for marginalized communities across the Teesta River basin.
By directly involving local residents in development activities, the initiative is facilitating both infrastructural growth and socioeconomic transformation, according to LGED sources.
Formally titled "Promoting Resilience of Vulnerable Through Infrastructure Capability and Harnessing Information," the PROBATI project commenced in July 2018 with financial support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The project currently operates across 25 upazilas in five districts of the Rangpur Division, namely Gaibandha, Kurigram, Rangpur, Nilphamari, and Lalmonirhat.
Key interventions under the project include rural road development and maintenance, growth center and market upgrades, construction of school-cum-flood shelters, climate-resilient infrastructure design, and vocational training. In Rangpur district, flood shelter and market development projects have already been completed in Tepamadhupur, Bhaiyarhat, Haragach, and Mirbagh under Kaunia Upazila, alongside similar infrastructure works in Gangachhara Upazila.
In a departure from conventional contracting, market construction under the project directly engages impoverished local residents formed into Labour Contracting Societies (LCS), where approximately 80 percent of members are women. Prior to construction, workers receive five days of practical training covering procurement of construction materials, labor management, and financial accounting. For instance, workers for the Khansama Hat development in Kaunia were selected through a public application process and lottery before undergoing training.
Besides, about 10,000 unemployed young men and women in the two upazilas are receiving 45-day residential technical training, enabling many to launch independent micro-enterprises. The project also conducts localized flood forecasting dissemination, climate change research, and community-based disaster preparedness training.
