Staff Reporter:
Water Resources Minister Md. Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee yesterday said the government is working simultaneously on canal excavation and freeing rivers and canals from encroachment and pollution.
“The current government is prioritizing canal excavation together with saving rivers and canals from being encroachment and polluted,” he said the remarks during a views-exchange meeting with leaders of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) at his Secretariat office.
State Minister for Water Resources Farhad Hossain Azad was also present there.
Highlighting recent initiatives, the minister said the government has approved the Padma Barrage Project within a short period of assuming office to safeguard the lives, livelihoods, and biodiversity of the southwest region.
He added that the fate of the northern region is closely tied to the Teesta River, and ongoing studies by local and foreign experts aim to maximize public benefit from it.
State Minister Azad emphasized that environmental and biodiversity protection must be prioritized be-fore undertaking any development project.
Multiple inter-ministerial meetings are held to ensure ecological concerns are addressed in all projects, he noted.
BAPA leaders urged the ministry to take stronger measures to protect rivers, canals, wetlands, and water bodies from encroachment and pollution.
Water Resources Secretary Dr. A.K.M. Shahabuddin was present at the meeting. BAPA President Nur Mohammad Talukder, Vice-President Khushi Kabir, Dr. Shahidul Islam, and General Secretary Almagir Kabir, were present, among others.
