The government has failed to take the proper action to save the country’s rivers and wetlands from illegal encroachment and pollution, experts and activists said on Saturday.
They also remarked that without the government’s goodwill to save the water bodies, all the civil society discussions and calls would be useless.
They were speaking at a seminar on “Saving Rivers and water Bodies in and around Dhaka City” held at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) auditorium.
Firstly the political parties should be aware about the importance of saving rivers and water bodies, said Mahmudur Rahman Manna, convener of Nagorik Oikkyo.
“Both Awami League and BNP party men are often involved with making money by grabbing water bodies,” he added. Syeda Rizwana Hasan, executive director of Bangladesh Environmentalist Lawyer’s Association (Bela) said everything could be achieved in the country if the government had good intentions.
She also blamed the government for giving advantage to the river grabbers through a faulty river demarcation process.
Prof Nazrul Islam, former chairman of the University Grants Commission, suggested that the government give more priority to save the water bodies as they were declining very quickly.
“The ratio of water body and land was 1:1 in 1900, then it was 1:2 in 1980 and at present it is 1:20,” he added.
