The Bogra district administration has undertaken a program to clean the Karatoa River aiming to destroy larvae of Aedes mosquitoes amid rising cases of dengue across the country.
Deputy Commissioner Saiful Islam inaugurated the program by cleaning the water hyacinths in the SP Bridge area on Tuesday.
Bogra Superintendent of Police Sudip Kumar Chakrabarty, and district unit Awami League President Majibur Rahman Majnu, among others, were present on the occasion.
They believe the initiative will bring back life to the river which was being polluted by different factories on its banks.
Sources at the Water Development Board (WDB) said that factories and houses on the banks of the river have been dumping waste for years. As a result, the water became unusable and the river became a mosquito breeding ground.
Moreover, due to the unabated breeding of mosquitoes, different mosquito-borne diseases are on the rise in Bogra.
The deputy commissioner’s office along with the police, the Department of Environment, Bogra Municipality, the health division, and the WDB undertook the program to clean the river which will bring some relief to the local people.
Moreover, the project will be executed through volunteering while different bodies including the Roads and Highways Division will lend manpower and equipment for the completion of the project.
Sub-Divisional Engineer of Bogra WBD Asadul Hoque told Dhaka Tribune that water flow in the river came to a halt due to pollution. As a result, the authorities have taken the initiative to clean nearly 13 kilometres of the river.
Deputy Commissioner in his opening speech called on people from all walks for their cooperation in successfully executing the project
