Abstract
The authors propose a “rural hydrology” approach for investigating and planning of rural infrastructure build-up in the floodplain zone of Bangladesh. The rural hydrology approach, a form of “alternative engineering,” requires the following minimal set of items : a motorcycle or bicycle, feet to walk around, an eye to see the real environmental conditions, an ear to listen to those who are informed of the local conditions, and a flexible mind to share with local people, in order to identify land and water conditions, constraints to development and the real needs of the locality and local people.
Here, a case study is documented. The dynamic hydrological environment of the floodplain of Tangail was analyzed at the level of the Union and the results were applied to formulate plans for building rural infrastructures including Union and village roads, bridges and culverts, low cost river-bank protection walls, and line-planting of African dhaincha (Sesbania sp.) to protect deep-water rice from water hyacinth.
