Location and Accessibility of the Project Area

The District Administration has branded the district Sirajganj as “TantKunjo” (Hurst of Loom). In the district, there are 46,403 weaving families, about 14,849 weaving factories, and 405,679 looms. About 210 million meters of fabric is made every year. The sub-sector provides employment opportunities for 208,156 people. Most of the weaving zone is located in Belkuchi, Shahajadpur, Kamarkhanda, and Sirajganj Sadar Upazilas of the district. The largest economic sector of this area after agriculture is the weaving industry.

Climate

Although less than half of Bangladesh lies within the tropics, the presence of the Himalayan Mountain range has created a tropical macroclimate across most of the east Bengal landmass. Bangladesh can be divided into seven climatic zones (Rashid 1991). According to the classification, the project area is located in the northern part of the northern region and north-western climatic zones.

North-western: Except that the extremes are less and the rainfall is lower, this zone is similar to the northern part of the northern region. The lower rainfall makes this area both atmospherically and pedologically drier. Southwestern: It comprises the greater Rajshahi district and parts of adjacent districts. This is the driest area in Bangladesh with rainfall generally below 1,500 mm and summer humidity less than 50%. In summer, it is the hottest and driest of all climatic zones. The mean summer maximum temperature is over 35°C. The climatic condition of the whole project area may be considered the same as reported in Ishwardi meteorological stations since these stations are closed to the project areas. The climate data are derived from the meteoblue. The meteoblue climate diagrams are based on 30 years of hourly weather model simulations. The weather models with historical data from 1985 onwards and generated a continuous 30-year global history with hourly weather data.