BANGLADESH

Protection of country’s rivers is most important: Information Minister

Terming the country’s rivers as veins in the human body, Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud today said protection of the rivers is a must to protect the country as well as to reach its dream destination.

“If rivers are polluted, occupied and dried up, Bangladesh will also be dried up and polluted. For this, it is the most important task to protect the rivers,” he said.

The minister stated this while addressing a seminar ‘Bangabandhu: Shawashwata Banglar Pratirup’ at Paridarshi Ship here.

The Shipping Ministry organised the seminar marking the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

State Minister for Shipping Ministry Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury addressed the seminar as a special guest.

Mentioning that there were immense impacts of rivers on Bangabandhu’s life, he said “There are also deep impacts of the rivers in the life of Bangabandhu’s daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and our life also.”

The minister said everything has been affected by the adverse effects of climate change.

“Fifty-eight rivers carry about two billions metric tons of silt. For this, there is a possibility of raising new land in the sea. Many lands have already been recovered. The Bhashanchar did not exist seven years ago. Even Subarnachar upazila of Noakhali district did not exist before the independence. But, currently it is now an upazila of the country which means there are endless possibilities of raising new land from the sea,” he added.

The Delta Plan of 2100 has been given the utmost importance, and it is needed to work more in this sector.

“We will be able to add a big part to our country from the sea if we move ahead with proper planning,” said Hasan, also Awami League joint general secretary.

The minister extended thanks to Khalid Mahmud for taking different steps to protect rivers.

He said about 2000 kilometers of river ways have already been recovered and more dredgers and ships have been purchased to recover river ways.

He said 93 percent catchment areas of big rivers are out of Bangladesh. So, the planning of recovering the river ways should be a part of the inter-state planning, he added.

Agricultural land is declining by one percent every year, meaning, we are losing about two lakh acres of land every year.

Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Shipping Ministry Major (retd) Rafiqul Islam Bir Uttam, the daily Observer editor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, Mongla Port Authority chairman Rear Admiral Musa, environmentalist Advocate Manzur Morshed, BIWTC chairman Ahmed Shamim Al Razi, Bangladesh Marine Academy Commandant Dr Sajid Hossain and additional secretary of the Shipping Ministry Sanjoy Kumar Bhowmik, among others, addressed the seminar with secretary of the ministry Mohammad Majbah Uddin Chowdhury in the chair.

Bangladesh University of Professional ‘Bangabandhu Chair’ Professor Dr Syed Anowar Hossain presented the keynote paper at the event.

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