Bangladesh will observe the World Rivers Day yesterday to highlight the importance of protecting the rivers from pollution and encroachment.
The World Rivers Day is a global celebration of the world’s waterways, observed every last Sunday in September. This year, the theme of the day for Bangladesh is ‘Give back rivers their banks’.
Different organisations will hold programmes in observance of the day. Riverine People, a voluntary organisation, has taken various programmes to observe the day in Rajshahi and Rangpur.
Yesterday, some 36 environmental and rights organisations brought out a procession -- ‘March for River Programme’ -- in the capital marking the day to sensitize people to raise their voice to protect the country’s rivers from pollution and encroachment.
The March for River Programme started from the Jatiya Press Club and ended at Shahbah intersection. About 500 people joined the march.
Launched in 2005, the World Rivers Day highlights the many values of rivers and strives to increase public awareness while encouraging the improved stewardship of rivers around the world.
Rivers in every country face an array of threats, and the World Rivers Day promotes the active involvement of citizens to ensure the health of rivers in the years ahead.