Bangladesh is seeing unprecedented growth right now. With innumerable infrastructural projects in the pipeline, and even more in their planning stages, massive undertakings from the government are changing the face of our country, and our economy is taking a bold step forward.
But one question that evades any such talk of development is how they are impacting our environment.
It is no secret that infrastructural projects of immense scope are often viewed as nothing more than a big pay day by government representatives of less-than-stellar scruples, cutting corners every which way to save money while pocketing uncountable amounts in the process, resulting in the blatant disregard towards environmental integrity.
While the highest seat of power in the nation, the prime minister herself, has often expressed her concern towards large government projects that don't take their environmental impact into cognizance, this has not resulted in any visible action on the part of the representatives who take up these projects.
Ecological considerations should be at the top of the list of things to consider -- the environment should not be an afterthought. And while we appreciate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's most recent directive to government officials about maintaining environmental integrity as a priority in large infrastructure projects, unless enforced at a policy level, any tangible change will continue to evade us.
This is the same mentality that is currently killing our rivers, after all, which is a matter of utmost shame given that Bangladesh owes its very identity to its many rivers and tributaries.
This culture of putting profit over the environment needs to end. Bangladesh is on the verge of shedding its LDC tag, and the more we inch towards our middle income status, the more important it will be for us to realize that high GDP numbers alone does not make a nation truly developed.
