Staff Reporter:
Water Resources Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan yesterday said it is possible to protect the rivers of Dha-ka with the collective efforts of all.
“The rivers around Dhaka are being polluted extensively. This is destroying the balance of the environ-ment and causing loss of biodiversity . . . it is possible to protect the rivers of Dhaka with the collective efforts of everyone,” she said.
Rizwana, also Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser, said these while addressing a seminar on ‘Policy Dialogue Reviving Dhaka’s Rivers: Policy Options for Sustainable Management’ organized by North South University yesterday.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan said that the River Research Institute is preparing a list of rivers across the coun-try, including Dhaka, so that waste from these rivers can be removed quickly. A project is being taken up involving the Buriganga, Shitalakshya, Balu, Turag, and Dhaleshwari rivers in Dhaka and eight rivers in eight divisions, she added.
She said the navigability of the rivers will be restored by removing waste and dredging.
The adviser also said, “If there is political will and administrative cooperation and the people come for-ward, it is not impossible to save the rivers. Small-scale sewage disposal systems must be established as part of proper waste management.”
Dhaka North City Corporation Administrator Mohammad Ejaz addressed the seminar as special guest with NSU Vice Chancellor Professor Abdul Hannan Chowdhury in the chair.
NSU Professor Dr Abdus Samad presented the keynote paper while Professor Md. Zakaria of the De-partment of Climate Change and Disaster Management, public health specialists Dr Anupam Hossain and Professor Md. Zulfikar Ali, among others, were present at the event.
